On The Edge
by Sybren-Lopez-Pierce
Summary: Brittany had managed to practically stay invincible for her whole sophomore year. But what happens when people find out that something is wrong with her? And what will she do once she gets the attention of the one and only, Santana Lopez?
1. Chapter 1 Beginnings

**A/N: Sorry for any leftover mistakes! Hope you enjoy the fic.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any songs in this fanfic.**

**Big thanks to my beta: Evoli321**

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_Brittany POV; present time_

"Yo, Pierce."

It all came down to those two single words that turned my life upside down. I had managed to practically stay invincible for my whole sophomore year, up until today.

But let me tell you something else first before I continue.

I noticed that something was wrong with me a few years ago. I was 8 years old. It was a warm summer day and all I wanted was to go outside and play in our garden. I loved our garden, it was so pretty with all the different colours of the flowers and birds and butterfly's flying around. It was magical. I could stay outside for a whole day. I wasn't allowed to, though. I had to study for a test since it was almost the end of our school year and it was very important to get good grades. So my dad made me stay inside and because I had been whining so much he sat right across me at the table to make sure I wouldn't leave.

_8 years ago;_

"You're not leaving this table until you know everything." I huffed at my dad's words and peered at the words in my textbook. I'm not the smartest cookie in our family and it always took me a long time to study. And even then I would only remember half of what I just studied.

When my dad stood up, I thought that he gave up on trying to keep an eye on me already and a float of relief washed over me. That was until he came back with a bag of potato chips in his hand. I slumped back in my chair to which my dad replied, "The sooner you're finished, the sooner you can go out."

If only it could have been that easy. The crunching of the chips bag opening filled the dining room and caused a shiver to run down my spine. It confused me a little as to why it sounded like he had opened the bag right next to my ear. But I shook it off and turned back to my books.

However, I didn't get very far. The sound of my dad munching on his chips rang through my ears like a drill. My heart started pounding faster and beads of sweat began to form on my forehead. I wanted to yell at my dad to stop eating, to stop making so much noise but I couldn't. Tears appeared in my eyes with each second that passed.

My dad mistook my tears for something else though; he thought I was crying because I didn't understand my books. He started yelling at me and slammed his hands down on the table, the only words I could hear over my own sobs where '_stupid'_ and '_idiot'_.

That's when I ran, almost colliding with my brother on my way out of the dining room, up to my bedroom. I cried myself to sleep for the first time that night.

_Present time; _

"Yo, Pierce." Puck stage whispered from where he was seated behind me but his words went lost in thin air. It's not that I was ignoring him; I just honestly did not hear him.

"PIERCE!" He hissed louder this time and kicked the back of my chair, which made me turn around to look at him in confusion.

I subtly took out my earplugs before answering, "What?"

"PIERCE! PUCKERMAN! I do not tolerate speaking, or working together. That'll be an F for the both of you." Mrs Meyers gave us both a stern look and collected our tests. My bottom lip jutted out and my wide eyes followed our teacher walking back to the front of the class. It wasn't fair, though. I hadn't done anything wrong.

"Miss, we weren't working together. " I could at least try to save my ass since I need those grades.

"Yeah, man, I just wanted to borrow a pen." Puck spoke up as well.

"I don't want to hear another word from both of you."

"But-" I needed her to understand that this was all Puck's fault, not mine.

"That's enough Pierce, you can stay later for detention for cheating, talking during a test and disrupting the other students." I could feel everyone's eyes on me when Mrs. Meyers let her words fill the now silent classroom. I ducked my head and stared intensely at the desk.

"_Loser_."

"And Puckerman will be joining you." Puck huffed and slumped back in his chair while my vision blurred as my eyes filled with unshed tears. _Detention._ I've never had detention before. "Everyone else, get back to your tests."

I let out a shaky breath and closed my eyes, willing to keep my tears at bay. I couldn't cry now, not in school where everyone has eyes in the back of their heads and rumors travel faster than lightning.

"Lopez, eyes on your own desk." Mrs. Meyers voice caused me to raise my head and look over to the side, where Santana "Captain" Lopez quickly averted her eyes. She had been staring. At me. _She_ had been staring at _me_. A flutter filled my stomach and a small smile took the place of the pout I was supporting earlier.

The smile got wiped off as soon as I heard Puck whisper, "You're so going to get it for getting me in detention, Pierce." I gulped audibly and a shiver of fear seeped down my spine. That did not sound good.

_Santana POV; Lunch time_

It was not unusual to come across weird things at WMHS, but wearing earplugs during a test must have been one of the craziest things I have ever seen. I was so lost in my thoughts that I almost walked right past the table where my fellow volleyball players where seated.

"Hey Santana, you okay? You seemed to be far away." Quinn, my best friend and one of our setters, questions as soon as I plop down next to her.

"Yeah, just… thinking." I replied and took a bite of my food, ignoring the look Quinn was giving me.

"Right, thinking… about?" She prodded, trying to get more out of me. I laughed softly at how eager Quinn looked, sitting on the edge of her chair with wide curious eyes staring at the side of my head.

Shaking my head, I turn in my seat to face her while I speak up. "Do you know Brittany?"

"Brent's younger sister?" I nodded in confirmation. "Sure, I have seen her around a few times. Why, though?"

"Do you know if she has some kind of … problem?" I wasn't even sure how to call what Brittany might have.

"Problem? What do you mean, problem?" Suddenly I thought that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to ask Quinn about that, don't get me wrong, she's my best friend but she's also the queen of gossip.

"Never mind, I probably just imagined stuff." I turned back in my seat and resumed eating my lunch.

"Oh come on, San, don't leave me hanging here." Quinn pushed me gently and scooted her chair closer. "Tell aunty Q what you saw."

I was about to flip her off when a commotion at my right caught my attention. Brittany had entered the cafeteria, searching for a left over seat. I smiled softly at how much she reminded me of an angel with the sunlight streaming through the window and lighting up her golden blonde locks. That's until some jocks walk up behind her and dump an ice cold slushy's over her head. "Holy fuck!"

Brittany stood frozen while the liquid drenched her shirt. Somewhere behind me I could hear Puck's voice;_ "Told you, you would get some. Loser." _I quickly rushed my way over to Brittany.

"Are you okay?" I reached my hand out and placed it gently on her shoulder, as to not scare her off. I grabbed her wrist with my other hand, as she was about to rub in her eyes. "Don't rub; it'll only make it worse. Come on, let's clean you up." I gently pushed against her shoulder to direct her to the bathroom to remove the sticky ice chunks. While I was gently wiping her face with some drenched paper towel, I couldn't help but stare at her features. The light freckles that covered most of her nose and cheeks, the plump lips whom where once again set into a pout, her fair skin, … .

The bathroom door being opened snapped me out of my thoughts. I noticed that my hand was now hovering over her cheek and hadn't moved for a few seconds. I stepped away from Brittany and cleared my throat. "D-do you have a spare shirt in your locker?"

/

Once she had changed in a clean shirt she looked at me, her ocean blue eyes staring right in my own. "Why did you help me?" It was a mere whisper that, if I hadn't been listening closely, I wouldn't have heard.

With a shrug of my shoulders I answered. "Why wouldn't I?" I send a soft smile her way as the bell rang through the hallway, indicating that lunchtime was over. "I'll see you around, Pierce." With one last glance at her lips, I turned around and walked over to my own locker where Quinn was waiting with her hand on her hip.

"Why did you help HER?" Quinn looked at Brittany with a disgusted look.

I balled my hands into a fist at my side, keeping myself from punching my best friend. "Why didn't YOU help her?"

She looked back at me with raised eyebrows and an 'are you serious' kind of look. "Puck must've had his reasons why he let his boys give her a slushy facial, I don't want to get on his bad side." She shrugged, acting like it was that simple.

"She didn't do shit wrong. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a class to attend to." I shoulder-checked Quinn while brushing passed her. I was fuming on the inside, I don't know why I got so defensive over Brittany but there was something in those innocent ocean blue eyes that captivated me.

_Brittany POV; Later that afternoon; _

Finally the last 2 classes of today where in sight, I still had free period and Spanish. As I was stacking my books from the previous classes I could feel someone approaching me. As I turned around, I knew that it wasn't a good idea, no one ever came up to me except maybe my brother. So when the icy chunks of slushy hit my face again, I already had my eyes and lips closed, preventing anything from entering. I groaned inwardly and sighed in defeat, pissing off Puck during first period obviously wasn't a good idea if you wanted to stay dry and clean for the rest of the day. I wiped away the remaining slushy of my face with my already ruined shirt and realized that that was the only spare shirt I had in my locker. Sighing again, I looked at the few students who were staring at me and whispering to their friends, a few ice cold stares made them all look away though. I scanned the rest of the crowd for a familiar face and saw my brother entering the hallway, talking to his friends. I pushed my way through the crowd after slamming my locker shut, scaring a few more bystanders.

"Brent." He looked up from where his friend was showing him something and the smile that was plastered on his face immediately dropped.

He walked over and pulled me in a hug, not caring that I was ruining his shirt. "Who did this?" He looked around the hallway for any potential slushy attacker but I shook my head and made him look back at me.

"Don't, Brent, I just came to ask for a shirt. Mine is completely drenched." I peeled the fabric away from my skin and made a face.

He sighed and looked down, taking in the state that I was in. "I told you to put a spare shirt in your locker, Britt."

"Yeah." I laughed sadly and bit on my bottom lip. "I'm wearing my spare shirt right now."

He cocked an eyebrow in my direction. "I don't understand. You mean that this was your second slushy attack?" His eyebrows pinched together in anger.

"Yeah I got one before lunch as well." I explained in a soft voice, trying to make it sound like it's not such a big deal.

"I'll kill the one who did this." He let out between clenched teeth and flexing jaw muscles.

"No, you won't. Please, for me?" I looked at him with the best puppy dog eyes I could muster up.

"Britt, I just don't want you to get another slushy facial or worse, hurt."

"And I don't want you to get expelled, this is your senior year, Brent. You can finally get the hell out of here." I didn't want any more violence on his account.

"… Fine. But if I see any of them in action then I can't promise that I won't do something." I knew that that was the best I could do from preventing Brent beating anyone up so I agreed with his terms. I was sure that he would still search for who gave me the slushy facials but at least he wouldn't hurt them. I accepted his shirt and smiled at the bold letters 'PIERCE' printed on the back. With a promise to tell him everything that happened and also why I was having detention later, I left Brent with his friends and went to the auditorium. No one would occupy it at this time so I could have some piece and quiet there.

_Santana POV; after volleyball practice _

I ran my hand through my hair and let out a sigh while walking through the empty hallways. Volleyball practice had ended a good hour ago and it had worn me out. Coach had gone all crazy on our asses since we had lost a very important match the previous captain has its privileges but sure didn't stop our coach from making me do a few extra laps around the field for not diving far enough during practice. I mean seriously, I came like half a finger short and I still managed to place the ball prefectly for one of my teammates to make a pass. Whatever. I shrug and continue walking towards the exit when the sound of footsteps made me stop and turn around to see who was following me. I raised my eyebrow when I saw that there was no one behind me, I peered in the darkness but eventually gave up. Must have been my imagination.

But the closer I got to the auditorium, the louder the footsteps became. It sounded like someone was dancing? Who could possibly still be dancing while the school was actually closed for all except the football and volleyball teams, who have practice after school hours. Frowning I pushed the door from the auditorium further open.

I stopped dead in my tracks; if anyone had been walking behind me they would have walked straight against me by the sudden stop. Right there on the stage was Brittany, her body flawlessly moving to the music that was blasting in her ears through her ear buds. Her chest heaving up and down from moving so energetic to the beat. Her movements where so fluid, I just couldn't stop staring at her, she danced so beautifully.

"Hey Britt!" The sudden voice startled me and I took a few steps back into the darkness so I didn't get noticed. Britt's older brother appeared on stage and he waved over to Brittany to get her attention.

Brittany seemed to have sensed him since she quickly pulled out her ear buds and smiled. "Oh, hey Brent. Is practice already over?"

"Yup, ready to go home, squirt?" He pointed over to the exit while holding tight onto his sport bag.

"I told you to stop calling me that." I could faintly see the pout Brittany was supporting and a small smile lid up my face.

"It's too funny, Britt. I see that my shirt is still very clean, did they stop the slushy attacks?" _Attacks?_ I gasped and frowned;did Brittany have another slushy facial?

"Yeah, they probably couldn't find me anymore, seeing as I was here the whole time."

"That's good. How was detention?"

"Sucked. Ms. Pillsbury was-" the rest of Brittany's words were too muffled for me to hear as they both made their way out of the auditorium. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding and ran a hand through my hair.

Something was up with Brittany, first I thought that she has some sort of hearing problem where the sounds that she hears are way too loud so that's why she wore earplugs during the day. But seeing how she easily listened to music on a loud volume threw my whole theory out of the window. I dropped my hand to my side and huffed.

I don't understand how it comes that I'm so captivated by her but I decided that, whatever was wrong with Brittany, I would find out. One way or another.

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**A/N: Should I continue? Or not?**

**For any questions you can PM me, review or send a message on my **

**tumblr: sybren-lopez-pierce **

**or twitter: /SRSLP**

**Whatever Brittany has will be revealed/explained in a future chapter. **

**R&R **


	2. Chapter 2 Avoidance

**A/N: Sorry for any leftover mistakes! Hope you enjoy the fic.**

**To bLOOP guest: Thank you for the advice, I'll try to make it more descriptive but I can't make any promises so don't shoot me, please. **

**To everyone else: Thank you for the reviews. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any songs in this fanfic.**

**Big thanks to my beta: Evoli321**

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_Brittany POV_

While walking through the halls of McKinley, I was reading over today's homework to make sure I didn't miss anything. It happens often that I leave questions open to get back to those afterwards, but once I'm done I forget that I left those open. Hall of fame from The Script was blasting through my ear buds and I bopped my head to the beat. I tried my best not to break out in a dance in the middle of the hallway. That wouldn't be so appropriate. Unless you're in glee club. They dance and sing wherever they want. I have considered joining them since I love dancing and making my own music. It's funny how my condition caused me to find peace in making music. I always used it to cover up the sounds around me, drumming my fingers against a flat surface, tapping my foot against the ground. Eventually it became a hobby of mine, recording my own pieces of music. No one knows about that, though, even my brother doesn't.

Being totally engrossed in reading my homework I failed to notice that someone was standing in my way. As I bumped into them, the books that I was holding fell on the ground; so did the person I just ran into.

I winced and closed my eyes as I waited for the outburst from the one I just knocked over. "Dios mio, watch where you're going!" Raising my eyebrow at the raspy voice, I opened my eyes and looked down. There on the ground was Santana, grabbing her books, which had fallen as well. Great… off all the people in McKinley I just had to bump into the only one that had been friendly towards me.

I opened my mouth but nothing came out, my apology dying down in my throat. Clearing my throat I tried again, "I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going. Are you okay?"

It dawned on Santana who it was that bumped into her and her features softened, the scowl being replaced by a soft smile. Her hand latched onto the one that I held out towards her and a tingly sensation went through my arm. Santana must have felt it as well, since she was staring at out clasped hands with furrowed brows.

I let go off her hand and bend down to pick up my books, when I stood back up, Santana was still staring at her hand with a her lips formed into a pout. I stifled a giggle at how adorable she looked at the moment and reached forward, linking my pinky with her, squeezing it gently. "Are you okay?"

This brought Santana back to life and she retracted her hand quickly, a pang of rejection rang through me. "I-I'm fine. Just… watch where you're going next time." With that, Santana closed her locker and walked away.

Weird… When Santana helped me with the slushy facial she was nice and friendly. Why was she suddenly so distant?

Shaking my head, I sigh. This is getting too complicated for me to follow. I ran a hand through my hair and put my ear buds back in, making my way towards my first class.

/

I hadn't seen Santana for the rest of the day; it looked like she was avoiding me for some reason. It kind of hurt to know that I was being ignored even though I didn't really know why I felt this way. It's not like Santana - or anyone for that matter - ever paid any attention to me before. Maybe that's why I felt like this though, since I finally got attention. I already lost it again.

Something else that seemed off was that Puck and his buddy's had been avoiding me as well. Each time one of them noticed me they would quickly turn around and scurry away. Wait, do I smell bad or something? Was there something on my face? Did I forget to brush my hair this morning? Am I still wearing pajamas? I hurried into the bathroom and checked myself from head to toe. Nope. Nothing is missing, nothing is wrong. Then why?

The sound of the bell, signaling that the next class was about to begin, interrupted my thoughts. I managed to slip inside the classroom right before the teacher went to close the door. Muttering out a quick apology, I kept my head lowered until I sat down at my desk. When I fished my books out of my bag I had a feeling that someone was watching me. I looked to my side and caught a glimpse of Santana quickly looking forward again, pretending to be listening. She was staring at me, _again_. I smiled and whispered out a "Hey."

I knew she heard me since cheeks grew a tad redder and she mumbled an almost inaudible "Hey." back. I smiled so bright, I wanted to keep talking to her but I wasn't sure what I would say. It took me a whole period to find the right sentence and it got thrown out of the window when the bell signaled the end of class. Santana had packed her books and left the class before I could even stand up from my seat.

I hurried after her and managed to catch her right before she stepped in her car. "Santana, wait."

_Santana POV_

God, I really can't with these feelings. They were invading my thoughts and that all from just a simple handhold. Brittany must think I'm crazy. This morning I had bolded away as soon as the hallway and everyone around us, who had faded in the background, came back into view. I had avoided Brittany the rest of the day. Don't get me wrong, I'm an out and proud lesbian, but the thought of myself actually liking someone kind of freaked me out for a moment. I couldn't ignore Brittany a whole day though; we had the last period together.

When she entered the classroom, just in time I must say, she had her head cast down so I took the opportunity to take in her presence. She was wearing jeans shorts and a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up, combined with blue and black supra sneakers. I watched nibbled fingers putting locks of golden blonde hair behind her ear. I had been staring a little too long and I knew she had caught me staring. A blush crept up my face and when she whispered an hey, all I could do was mumble one back.

Once class was over I had made sure to pack up quickly so that I could leave as fast as I could to not embarrass myself even more. But I only made it to my car when she called out for me.

"Santana, wait." I slowly turned around and raised an eyebrow, questioningly. "I just wanted to thank you for helping me out at lunch with the slushy and all."

I shrugged, "It's nothing, you hadn't done anything wrong so it was only natural for me to help you out." Brittany nodded and sent another bright smile my way. Seeing her smile like that made me want to smile back so I quickly avert my eyes and cleared my throat. "So, is there anything else or can I step in my car now?"

Brittany's smile fades, "Right, of course. No, there's nothing else. You can go." I mentally face palmed myself at the dejected sound in her voice. Very nice Lopez, she came her to thank you and all you can do is be a bitch and blow her off.

"Hey Pierce!" I quickly call over to her when she walked away with her tail between her legs. She perked up and gave me a hopeful smile, which rendered me speechless, "Uh… See you tomorrow." I let out and jumped into my car so I wouldn't see yet another rejected look in those ocean blue eyes. _See you tomorrow_. Seriously Lopez, you couldn't find the balls to ask her if she wanted to go grab a drink or something. What the hell is wrong with you today?

_A few days later_

I threw my keys and bag onto my table and flopped down on my bed, burying my face into the pillows. I groaned and let out a muffled scream for acting so stupid around Brittany. Ever since I drove off after school that day, everything was back to how things were before. Brittany and I didn't talk to each other; even the casual 'hey' was left behind locked doors. I ignored that nagging feeling and threw myself completely at the upcoming volleyball season. During lunch and after school, even during my free periods, I made my way over to the field to work myself up in a sweat. But the feeling never went away, it was like someone was constantly tugging at my shirt as I was going along with my day. That was the reason why I lay here, making a complete fool out of myself in front of my older sister.

"Hey sis, what's got you all worked up?" Spencer was seated at the foot of my bed and tapped my calves lightly to get my attention.

A muffled "Leave me alone." was the only responds I sent her way.

"Wow, hey, I just wanted to help out." She threw her hands up and was about to leave my bedroom when I called her back.

"Wait. I'm sorry, please stay." I lifted my head up from my cushion and looked at her with a look mixed between sorrow and pleading.

"That's more like it. So tell me, what's got your panties in a bunch?" I felt my bed dip again and I sat up crisscrossed opposite of her.

"More like who."

My sister grinned and sat up straight, "Oh, do tell."

I shook my head at her enthusiasm. Spencer was the first person I ever came out to since I knew she would accept me for who I am. And I needed her as support for when I came out to my parents. Not that I had needed it, because both my parents took it very well. "Okay so there is this girl in my class who recently sparked my interest, but me and my stupid insecurities completely ruined my chances with her."

"What do you mean?"

"Well I might or might not have blown her off when she was trying to make a conversation with me." I winced as my sister slapped my thigh. "I know, I know, it's just that she's invading my mind and giving me all kinds of feeling that I don't know how to deal with."

"Oh, you like her." My sister smirked and I shot her the best glare I could come up with.

I buried my head in my hands and sighed. "I feel like a teenage boy who's got a crush on someone he could never have a chance with. Blushing and at loss for words when she touches me and completely captivated by her presence when she's near me."

"Wait, she has been in your class since school started?" I nodded in affirmation. "Then why didn't you notice her before?"

"I did notice her, I just wasn't paying any attention up until I saw her wearing earplugs during class one day. I thought it was weird and wanted to know why she's wearing those."

"And did you find out?" Spencer's eyebrows lifted up in question but I shook my head.

"No, I still have no clue. And there is no one else who knows something about her. Everyone knows her brother though… Brent." I shrugged. I couldn't really ask her own brother what was wrong with her. That would be awkward and noisily.

"Brent. As in Brent Pierce?"

"Yeah, you know him, too?" I squint my eyes at her. How come everybody knows about him but there is so little known about Brittany?

"Know him? Of course I know him. He's dating a friend of mine for years now. They're so cute together, with all the romantic dates and stuff. And he's so handsome and hot. Damn- " I cut her off before she went into any more details and more off topic.

"Alright, I don't need to know all that." Scrunching my nose up in disgust, I punched my sister's shoulder lightly but still hard enough for her to fall over onto her back on the bed.

Spencer giggles and sits back up, "Right, so YOUR Brittany is THE Brittany. Brent's little sister."

"She's not MY Brittany." Although I do like the sound of that. Urgh shut up Lopez, focus.

"Yet."

"Shut up, Spence." I push her again but catch her shoulders before her back could hit the sheets. "Wait if you know Brent then you must know where they live, right?" I question.

"Yeah, they live on 900 E Kibby Street. Why?" she looked at me in confusion when I quickly rose to my feet and bolted out of the door.

"No reason, I got to go. See you later, sis." I yelled back at her while I made my way downstairs and out of the house.

_Brittany POV_

Staring at my laptop screen, my MPC 5000 right next to it as one of my own mixed songs played in the background, I let my mind wander back to the past few days. At first it seemed all so unreal. Santana Lopez helping me, one of the outcasts, was something that was unheard off. But it happened and my chest had fluttered with hope that finally someone genuinely liked me and cared. That bit of hope got stepped on the next day as Santana had ignored me for a whole day. So when she asked if she could leave it wasn't all that much of a surprise, it didn't hurt any less, though.

For the rest of the week I choose to ignore Santana to prevent myself from getting my hopes up again. It seemed to work out pretty well. After a few days I hardly ever saw her again. I did wonder where she went but I just shook my head and continued to focus on my own stuff. Like the new mix I have been working on, it's nowhere near finished but I like how it sounds so far. I should let Brent listen to it soon so that he can give some feedback.

Looks like it is my lucky day. "Hey Brent, could you come listen to my new track for a sec?" I question as he walked by my open bedroom door.

"Sure Britt, you know I love your tracks." He fully entered my room and sat on my bed, waiting patiently for me to turn up the music. The sound of drums filled my bedroom and I nodded my head to the beat as my own creation washed over me. Halfway through the song I pause it and looked at my brother.

"The rest isn't finished yet." I bit on my bottom lip and looked at him through my eyelashes. "What do you think?"

"That was awesome, Britt. I can already tell it's going to be a big hit. You should totally let me sell your tracks; we could earn so much money. We could move out to New York with all that cash and still have enough left." Brent gushed and I blushed at his words. He always tries to get me to sell my songs but I'm not that confident that they are that good. He thinks they are but I rather just keep them to myself for the time being.

I shake my head at him, "Not going to happen, Brent."

"I can only try, right." He shrugged and smiled.

Another thought suddenly popped up in my mind that I was dying to ask him. "Brent, I wanted to ask you something."

"Fire away." He chuckled and leaned back on his arms, getting in a more comfortable position.

"Did you say or do something to the jocks that slushied me?"

The look on his face already told me enough but the words that came out of his mouth spoke against it. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Britt." He averted his eyes to the duvet that was lying on my bed.

"So you did." I sighed and stared at him in disbelief.

"I'm not saying anything."

"God Brent, why did you do that? I told you not to get into it."

He kept his lips pressed tight together but eventually let out a breath and tried to explain his actions. "Britt, you're my sister. Family helps each other out. Simple as that."

"What did you say to them? You didn't hurt them did you?"

Before Brent could tell me, the sound of the doorbell rang through the house. Since we were home alone, one of us needed to go downstairs to open the door.

"I'll get it." Brent stood up and dashed out of my room, escaping our conversation.

"We're not done talking about this, Brent." I called after him and chuckled when I heard him groan out in distaste.

I can't believe he did that, though. I told him explicit not to get involved into anything that could get him expelled and yet he still went and threatened a few sophomores. Unbelievable. I guess that's why I only got two slushy facials, now it started to all make sense to me.

"Britt, you got a visitor." Brent's voice ran through the house and I raised an eyebrow at his words. A visitor. Me?

"Who is it?" I yelled back, still not having moved from my spot in front of my laptop.

"Come see for yourself." I rolled my eyes and stood up, looking over myself in the mirror to see if I was presentable enough for whomever it may be that was at the door. Once I was satisfied enough with how I looked, I barreled down the stairs and rushed through the passage, sliding over the floor with my socks and coming to a stop at the front door. I chuckled to myself at my childishness and when I looked up I saw the same grinning smile that I was supporting, staring back at me. I gasped which made the visitor stare up at me from where she was looking at my sock covered feet.

"Santana?"

* * *

**A/N: This was a filler but those are needed as well else the story will end up going way too fast.**

**For any questions you can PM me, review or send a message on my**

**tumblr: sybren-lopez-pierce**

**or twitter: /SRSLP**

**Whatever Brittany has will be revealed/explained in a future chapter (possibly the next one, oooh). **

**R&R**


	3. Chapter 3 Friendship

**A/N: Sorry for any leftover mistakes! Hope you enjoy the fic.**

**Glee4ever123: Thank you for the tip, hopefully I wrote it to your expectations (Shy!Brittany).  
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**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any songs in this fanfic.**

**Big thanks to my beta: Evoli321**

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_Santana POV_

It had been a very spontaneous decision of me to go to Brittany's home. The second after my sister told me where Brittany lived, my body had reacted on it's own. I stepped in my car and made my way through the streets. I hadn't really thought about what I was going to say to her but all I knew was that I needed to apologize for my behavior.

So now I was here, standing on her doorstep, waiting for someone to answer the door. I heard commotion on the other side of the door and took a step back as the front door opened. I came face to face with the broad chest of Brent Pierce and gulped loudly. I better not mess things up.

"Yes?"

A slight shiver made it's way up my spine at the deep voice and I slowly looked up. "Uh... Hi… Is Brittany around?" I rocked on the balls of my feet and clasped my hands in front of me.

"Britt, you got a visitor." Brent called back into the house after giving me a once over.

A muffled "Who is it?" could be heard from somewhere in the house and it made me smile. God, even just her voice caused the sleepy butterflies in my stomach to wake up all groggy and startled, flying into each other.

"Come see for yourself." Brent said and then went back inside, leaving me standing at the front door. A minute later, Brittany came barreling down the stairs. She rushed through the passage, sliding over the floor with her socks and came to a stop at the front door. I giggled and a wide smile spread across my lips as I stared down at the sock covered feet that belonged to Brittany. The gasp that escaped the blonde's lips tore my eyes away from her feet to her face.

"Santana?"

"Hi Brittany." My hands started to sweat and get clammy. This was it, my chance to make things right.

"W-what are you doing here?" Brittany's eyebrows were pulled together in confusion.

I bit my lip and let out in a soft voice "I came to apologize."

"Why?" The frown Brittany was supporting never leaving her face.

I let out a sigh and decided to just get it over with, no reason to beat around the bush now. "I haven't been fair to you. I ignored you without any good reason, you had been nothing but friendly and I acted cold towards you. So I felt the need to apologize to you."

I saw that Brittany was staring at me like I just had grown two heads, her mouth agape. She blinked, shook her head and her lip curled up in a smile. "Okay, I accept your apology."

I nodded in defeat until her words really hit me and my head snapped upwards from where I was looking at the pavement, to look at her. _Did she just forgive me?_ "Wait... You forgive me? Just like that?"

"…Yes?" The frown reappeared on Brittany's face. "Doesn't it work like that? Do I have to take it back?"

I hold up my hand. "NO! I mean, not unless you want to of course. I just thought you would make me work to be forgiven."

"Oh." She smiled and shrugged. "That won't be necessary."

Now it was my turn to stare at her with my mouth agape and a few minutes passed where neither of us said anything. Brittany really is something else. I chuckled and held out my hand. "So… friends?"

As soon as the words left my mouth, Brittany's demeanor suddenly turned into shyness and she blushed under my gaze. "F-friends?"

"Or not. I guess that's pushing it a bit too far, you only just forgave me_._ Forget that I asked." I quickly backed up and turned around to leave, slightly embarrassed.

Brittany grasped my wrist and held me back. I had to strain my ears to hear a quiet mumble "Friends." When I looked back at her, she wasn't even looking at me. Her head lowered, eyes fixed on the ground while her foot scuffed over the pavement. She looked absolutely adorable and I had to refrain myself from wrapping her in a hug. That might be a bit too soon.

I grabbed the hand that was holding my wrist and gave it a gentle squeeze. Brittany looked up and I smiled, nodding my head. A slight nod and a shy smile was all I got in return but that was enough.

_Brittany POV_

As soon as Santana had left and I had closed the door, I let out a high-pitched squeal and danced my way towards the living room. Brent, who probably had risen to his feet once he heard me squeal, looked at me in worry. I just shrugged and continued my impromptu dance performance; a big smile perched on my face. My cheeks started to hurt from smiling so big but I ignored it. Santana had asked me to be her friend; nothing could possibly ruin my day.

"Britt, as much as I enjoy seeing you so happy, can I ask the reason as to why you look like you won the lottery?" I giggled at my brother's words and threw my arms around his neck, hugging him tight.

"I just made a friend." I tried to contain another squeal and wiggled my butt, excited.

"That's great, Britt." The tone Brent used didn't match his words and I sighed.

"Jeez, don't be so overenthusiastic." I unwrapped myself and took a step back, looking at him incredulous.

Brent's shoulders slumped and he sighed. "I'm just… You do remember what happened with your last '_friend'_, right?" A pang of hurt filled my heart and I swallowed thickly. The so-called 'friend' Brent just mentioned was my ex-best friend, Ashley. She had been my best friend for as long as I could remember, we grew up together. That's until I discovered that something was wrong with me. I got angry with her a lot and when I tried to explain why I got angry, she didn't understand. I drove her away. I lost my best friend and ever since then, no one wanted to have something to do with me.

I blinked away the tears that threatened to fall and breathed in deeply. I couldn't let the past control my future. Santana wanted to be my friend. And I was going to do everything to be the best friend, even if it meant hiding my problems. "Whatever, I just made a friend and I'm not going to let her slip away so easily." I huffed and left the room, walking up to my bedroom with determent footsteps. I could do this.

A few days had passed by since Santana stood on my doorstep, in those few days a lot had changed for me. When I first entered the school, the day after, I was greeted by Santana leaning against the locker next to mine. To say I was surprised would be an understatement. I had ducked my head and smiled bashfully at the gesture, mumbling a greeting back. She had waited patiently while I tucked all my books safely in my locker and grabbed those who I needed to start the day. When she offered her pinky, I first had stared at the digit for a moment, wondering why she was holding it out. And blushed when she gently wrapped hers around mine, tugging me towards our first classroom. From then it became our routine, Santana would wait for me by my locker and we'd walk to our class together, pinkies linked. Many of the other students who walked by all stared with confusing written on their faces, but Santana didn't seem to notice it or she just didn't care.

Right now I was struggling with trying to open my locker, though. I might or might not have forgotten the combination and there was no one around to help me. Santana had informed me earlier that she had to talk to someone about something and that she would meet me in class. I hadn't really minded it. I was used to walking around the school grounds on my own but I had to admit that it felt weird to be walking alone again. I was getting accustomed to Santana walking right next to me, talking about how the teachers sucked and complaining about having homework and tests to study. I hardly said anything back, I was too focused on listening to her voice, but she never seemed to mind.

I sighed and gave up, letting the lock slip out of my fingers and bang against my locker door.

"Hey Brittany, need any help with that?" Santana's voice startled me and I snapped my head towards the side, staring right in mysterious dark brown eyes.

I tilted my chin down to my chest and my cheeks flushed slightly as I nodded. "I forgot the combo."

"I always knew it would be better to have lockers you'd have to open with a key."

"Not really." I shrunk a little under Santana's gaze and rushed to explain myself. "You uhm… You could lose the key. Or someone could steal it." I let out in a soft, almost inaudible voice.

Santana raised her eyebrow and stared at me for a moment before nodding her head. "You're totally right. I hadn't thought about it in that way." I let out a breath of relief and smiled at her. "Well there is only one way to get this to open, I'll have to break down the door."

My eyes shot wide open and I squeaked out a "What?"

Santana laughed and waved a hand in front of her. "I'm only joking. Well, partly." She shrugged and stepped in front of my locker. I stepped to the side so I could watch and saw her grabbing a ruler from out of her binder. She slipped the ruler in the locker and tilted it upwards, meanwhile her other hand pushed the door up as well and the lock slipped out of its place. "There we go." She opened the door completely and grinned up at me, proudly.

"H-how did you do that?" I gaped from my now open locker to Santana and back at the locker.

"Just… Magic." She giggled and I nodded. It definitely looked like magic.

"Come on, grab your stuff. We're already 10 minutes late for class."

"Right." I shook myself out of my daze and grabbed everything I needed. I knew I had written the combo of my lock somewhere. So once I found it, I relocked my locker safely.

/

The only time I wasn't around Santana was during lunchtime. She had asked if I wanted to join her at her table, where her teammates were seated but I politely declined. I didn't want to be triggered in any way and lash out in front of Santana and her friends. So as always, I sat in the furthest corner, ate my lunch and left long before lunchtime was over to slip into the auditorium.

I got to dance my heart out and forgot all about school and everyone around me. It easily became the best 30 minutes of my day. Although, now that Santana appeared into my life it might become the second best thing.

"Hey, Brittany, right?" I turn around to see who interrupted my dancing and came to face a petite brunette wearing a sweater vest with a horse on the front and a matching plaid skirt, which stops just above her knee.

I cocked my eyebrow at her strange sense of fashion but focused rather on replying her question then her outfit. "Uh, yeah. That's me."

"Hi, I'm Rachel Barbra Berry." She stretched out her hand, which I reluctantly shook. "You do know you're not actually allowed to use the auditorium without permission do you?"

My eyes widened at being caught and I stuttered out a "N-no. Sorry."

"I'll let it slip for now." Rachel waved me off with her hand and smiled, showing pearl white teeth.

"Thanks." I smiled slightly and went to grab my stuff; I didn't wanted to stretch the overstepping of the rules.

"But that's not the reason why I'm here, though."

I stood up and looked at her with confusing. "It's not?"

Rachel shook her head and closed the distance between us with a few steps. "No. I saw you dance and I just came to say that you should join our Glee club, we could use such an incredible dancer as you." It wasn't a question.

"I uh…" I hesitated, I've always wanted to join but I still didn't know if it was a good idea.

"You don't have to answer right away, just think about it. Or better yet, come watch a class. You don't have to do anything but sit and observe."

Sit and observe; I could do that. "O-okay."

"Great, then we'll see you after school in the choir room." Rachel clapped her hands together and beamed at me.

"Sure."

"I'm going to hug you now, okay?" Before I could say no, Rachel's arms were wrapped around me as she pulled me in a hug. I was no stranger to hugs but this one certainly wasn't that comfortable. I was glad she pulled away after a moment and skipped, _yes skipped_, out of the auditorium.

/

Taking a deep breath, I nervously knocked on the door of the choir room and entered. Immediately all eyes were on me and it made me all kinds of uncomfortable until I noticed a familiar face, sitting all the way in the back. Santana. A small flutter of relief warmed my inside and eased my nerves.

"Ah, Brittany. You made it." Rachel stepped in front of my vision and nodded in her direction. "Mr. Schue, this is Brittany. She'll be watching our class for today." Yet again, it wasn't a question.

Mr. Schue smiled at me and nodded his head. "That's wonderful, the more the merrier."

"I didn't know there were horses allowed in school." Before I registered what I said, laughter filled the choir room, and I lowered my head in embarrassment. I knew I shouldn't have spoken my mind, _great first impression Britt_.

"Did she seriously just say that?" A boy in a wheelchair piped up.

I almost dashed back out of the room but Santana's raspy voice cut through the laughs "Shut up, Stubbles McCripple-Pants." There were a few gasps and everyone's head turned to look at Santana.

"Alright everyone, that's enough. Let's focus on our class for today. Brittany you can take a seat." I nodded towards Mr Schue and made my way over towards the back. There were two seats available, one next to a Bieber look-a-like with fish lips, the other one next to Santana. I looked at both chairs and wondered if it would be okay to sit next to Santana. Not taking the risk, I moved over to sit next to fishy lips but I got pulled in the seat next to Santana before I could even sit down. I looked down at my wrist and saw tan fingers wrapped around it. I smiled up at Santana and she sends me a wink back, which left me breathless.

I turned and looked to the front of the class were I noticed that Rachel was staring at us. "Get on with it, hobbit." I stifled a giggle at Santana's nickname for Rachel, although she actually wasn't that much smaller than her, but it was still funny. Rachel huffed and turned towards the pianist, starting the class.

/

I had enjoyed Glee club, it was fun and the music was loud enough for me to not get in trouble so at the end of the class I told Mr. Schue that I would love to join. He had asked if I could do a small audition tomorrow just so that everyone could agree on me joining them. And I thought that was fair enough.

It had been quite an eventful day but it had been nice and I was finally feeling happier for once. That happiness was short-lived, though. As soon as I had made my way in our house I was met with my dad, looking rather furious and fuming. I hoped to get away with quickly running past the kitchen, where he was seated, but no such luck. He had seen me and called me back.

"Hey, dad."

"Don't 'Hey, dad' me. Do you see this?" He held out a paper of which I could make out was one of my Spanish tests we had done recently.

"Yes, that's mine." I nodded.

"I can see that it is yours. But have YOU seen your score?" I slumped my shoulders; of course I had seen the score, the big red F was hard to look by. I nodded again. "Oh, so you have seen it. Well, then what are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know? Maybe you should try to actually study for your tests for once." My dad slammed the paper down on the table, making it tremble.

"I did study." I had to make him believe that I did study for it, since I did.

"Right, you're just too stupid to remember everything." He rolled his eyes upwards and shook his head disapprovingly.

"That's not true, I did study and I do remember everything. I just couldn't concentrate with all these noises that everyone was making. It's hard for me." I sucked in my bottom lip and closed my eyes briefly.

"Stop using this made up disease as an excuse for failing your tests."

My dad's words pierced through me like a knife. I couldn't believe he just said that. "I didn't make it up. It's real."

"Don't lie to me, Brittany."

"I'M NOT!" I couldn't hold back anymore, he was making it seem like this was my entire fault, but I couldn't help it, it wasn't in my hands.

"DON'T RAISE YOUR VOICE TO ME, NEITHER." He raised his voice as well and by the end of his sentence he was full on yelling at me.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Brent entered the kitchen behind me but I couldn't stay any longer, I stormed out of the house and ran. I didn't care where I was running to, I just needed to get out of the house, get away from my dad.

_Santana POV_

Once I had made it out of school, I met up with my teammates at the park for a few hours of practicing on our own record. I really enjoyed these kinds of practices since there was no coach yelling at every mistake, it was just all fun and smiles. I was a little later because of Glee club but I didn't wanted to have missed that class since Brittany was going to be there. I had asked Rachel to go and check out Brittany during lunch time, I knew Brittany always went to the auditorium when she was done eating so it wasn't that hard to catch her. When Rachel later informed me that Brittany would stay and watch for one day, I quickly said to Quinn that I would be later for practice. I don't care if she's pissed at me now, I just couldn't miss out on some Brittany time.

"Look who finally decided to show up." Quinn snarled at me once I joined the girls on the field.

"Shut up, Fabray. Be glad I'm here." I glared at her.

"Alright you two, let's just play shall we." Rosie threw the ball at me, which I caught swiftly. "You can serve, C." Giving Quinn one last glare, I turned and went to the end of the field. Once every one of both teams were in position, I threw the ball up in the air and hit it hard so it passed over the net and over to the opposing side's court.

We had been playing for a while now, with the last set ball landed in the court of the opposing team, Quinn's team, which made it 2-1 for my team. We'd still have to play one or two more sets to see who'll first win 3 sets but first, a break.

I was laughing at something that Christine was saying when a flash of blonde hair passed by the field. Normally I wouldn't pay attention to that person but something about the hair felt a little too familiar to me. I peered through my eyelashes, looking for a familiar face.

There, a few feet away from the field sat Brittany against a tree, her head buried in her arms while her knees where tucked up against her body. That didn't look so good.

I interrupted Christine in the middle of her sentence "I'll be right back." and dashed over towards the shaking body of my new friend. I approached her gently, not wanting to scare her off in any way. Kneeling in front of her, I placed my hand on her forearm and made my presence known. "Hey Britt." I was too focused on the quivering blonde in front of me to notice the nickname that fell of my lips.

Brittany's head shot up so quickly, I was surprised she didn't hurt herself. "S-San'ana."

"Hey, are you okay?" _Yeah, right, does she look okay to you? Stupid question, Lopez._ "I mean, what's wrong?"

"I-I'm w-worthless." Brittany let out in between sobs.

"What? No you're not. Who said that?" Why would anyone say that to someone as amazing as Brittany?

"M-my dad." Her dad? Damn. And here I thought that parents should love their children unconditionally. Looking at Brittany now, I guess I was wrong.

"You're not worthless, Brittany. You're amazing, you're so much more worth than your dad tells you." I ran my hand up and down her arm in a soothing way, hoping it would help a little to settle her down.

"But I'm stupid." She replied with a hiccup at the end, another tear ran down her rosy cheeks.

"Okay, I'm going to stop you right there. You're not stupid and I don't want you to ever use that word again, okay? From what I've got to experience about you over these few days is that you're unique, imaginative, beautiful, funny." I gently poked her side and got a little giggle from her. "But most of all, you're so smart, Brittany. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Better yet, I won't let anyone else tell you otherwise or they'll get a meet and greet with Aunty Snixx." I got another giggle out of her and I smiled, glad that I could make her smile that beautiful smile again.

Quinn yelling that we're going to start another set, made me rise to my feet and I held out my hand for Brittany to take. "Do you want to watch me kick some ass?" She wiped away her tear tracks and nodded her head with a smile. "Okay, let's go."

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**R&R**


	4. Chapter 4 Victory

**A/N: Sorry for any leftover mistakes! Hope you enjoy the fic.**

**Thank you all for your kind reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any songs in this fanfic.**

**Big thanks to my beta: Evoli321**

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_Santana POV_

There was something about all this that I didn't understand. It's like someone stuffed my brain to the brim full with information, so that even the simplest fractions were confusing. After I had found Brittany crying, she quietly watched our volleyball practice. And even though, she didn't really understand the rules, cheered shyly. Once we finished, I suggested walking Brittany back home. Me answering a few of her questions about the game consumed the walk back. But the topic about why she was crying before never came up again. And that's the reason why I was staring at my locker for the past few minutes, unmoving and lost in thought.

A smack against the back of my head snapped me back into reality. Ready to give whoever hit me a piece of my mind, I put on my best bitchy glare and turned around. The smirk on Christine's face only grew when she saw my glare, the volleyball she bounced in her hands, mocking me even more.

"I hope you were thinking about tonight's game and not about the hot blonde that joined us yesterday, else we'll be in a lot of trouble." Christine threw the ball in my direction, which I swiftly caught.

"Ha-ha, when have I been off my game, huh? That's right, never." I slammed my locker shut and gave my teammates my full attention.

Christine shrugged and stuck out her tongue. "Just saying… You didn't hear Quinn call for you 3 times just yet. Wouldn't want that to happen during the game, now do we?"

"What was she doing there anyway?" Quinn suddenly voiced her thoughts and I cocked an eyebrow.

"Brittany? Oh, you know, just chilling." Rolling my eyes towards the ceiling. I couldn't tell Quinn or any of my other teammates for that matter- what Brittany was actually doing there. Hell, even I didn't completely know why she was there in the first place. All I knew is that she was upset and she didn't wanted to talk about it.

"Right, whatever."

I shot another glare in Quinn's direction. I'm not sure what was up with her, it's not abnormal that we bitch against each other, but something felt off. Before I could go any deeper in thought, Amelia jumped in front of me, grinning. "So you ready for tonight then? We're going to kick some Cardinals ass."

I smiled and nodded. I like Amelia, she's the youngest out of us all and always eager to kick some ass on the field. She was our personal energizer bunny, never skipped any trainings or matches and always ready as hell. "You know it! They got nothing against the Yellow Tigers." I pumped my fist in the air and let out a low roar, to which everyone cheered.

"Hell no!"

Satisfied with everyone's cheers, I started to walk away from the lockers, towards my next class. Everyone else seemed to slip into different conversations while I let my mind wander towards a certain blonde haired, blue-eyed girl. I hadn't seen Brittany since yesterday and I really wondered how she was doing today. Normally I would have gone to her locker just like every other day but seeing as everyone wasn't going to leave until some of us reached our designed classes, I wouldn't be able to do so today.

An arm got slung over my right shoulder and I looked to my left, being greeted by a smiling Riley. Riley was my 'double' so to say; she was personalized in the same position as me, middle block. Each of us got such a double for when anyone is injured or absent, they will fall in. Or just to switch up the team a bit. "Hey Cap." I nodded back. "Just wanted to know if the hot blonde going to join us tonight?"

I opened my mouth to reply but closed it again. I hadn't even thought about asking Brittany if she wanted to come watch us play. I definitely would love that, though. "I don't know. Maybe." I shrugged.

"You know we could use some extra supporters." Riley gave me her best puppy dog eyes.

Lucy turned around and smiled, while she continued to walk backwards. "Yeah, some extra people on those bleachers would be nice. Even better if they're women."

"Even better if they're _hot_ women." Christine wiggled her eyebrows and winked at me. I heard Lucy respond with a '_that's what I'm talking about' _and they high-fived while everyone else just laughed.

"Okay, now you're pushing it. I said maybe." I pointed at them with a stern look but my shoulders slumped. "I don't even know if she's free tonight."

Riley squeezed my shoulder and pulled me even closer against her side. "Ah come on, C. A girl like that would just drop everything in a flash if you asked."

"Yeah, come on, Cap. Couldn't hurt to ask, right?" The other girls nodded along.

"Alright, alright. Just shut up already, I'll ask her later." I mumbled and blushed under their gazes.

"Woo-hoo. And we have a winner. Match point!"

"You guys are crazy." I laughed and shoved Riley away from me, playfully.

She blew me a kiss and then disappeared through the doors of her classroom. "We love you too, C."

/

It was finally midday so I made my way towards the auditorium. Brittany was going to perform for all the glee kids to show that she's worthy of being in Glee club. Although, with her dancing skills. I wouldn't doubt that they agree on letting her join after she danced for 5 seconds. But Brittany appeared to be thinking differently about that. I saw her standing in front of the auditorium doors, one hand reaching out towards the handle but she retracted it. She did that a few times until I walked up beside her.

"Hey, Brittany. Are you okay?"

Brittany turned her head so fast I was surprised she didn't hurt herself. "H-hey, Santana." She fumbled with her fingers and nodded faintly. "I'm fine… I think."

I wanted to reach out and take her hands in mine but held myself back from doing so. "Nervous?"

"Very." She bit on her bottom lip, _so sexy_, and averted her eyes towards the ground.

"Don't be, you're an incredible dancer. Everyone will love your dance moves." I saw a small smile forming on her lips and did a mental fist-pump.

"You think so?"

"I know so. Trust me." She was definitely just as good as boy Chang, if not better.

Brittany brought her gaze back towards me and nodded. She opened the auditorium doors but froze again once she heard the rest of the Glee club talking. "…. I can't." The doors slipped close again as she retracted her hand.

"What? Why not?" I scrunched up my nose and let out a puff of breath when Brittany's shoulders dropped in disappointment. "You can tell me, you know that."

"They think I'm … stupid."

I shook my head. "You're not stupid, okay? And didn't I told you to never use that word again?" I punched her shoulder playfully, trying to ease some of the tension that surrounded her.

An almost inaudible "S-sorry." passed her lips.

"It's okay, I'll let it slip for now." I needed to approach the situation differently. "Okay, here's what we're going to do. You're going to dance for me, just for me. You're going to think all the others away and focus on me. Can you do that, Brittany? Do you think you can dance for me?" I placed my fingers under her chin and lifted her gaze back towards me.

Brittany gulped but nodded her head firmly. "I can."

"Alright, you better go inside and show me then."

This time she pushed passed the doors and went inside. But when she stopped at the top of the stairs she looked back at me, mumbling out a shy "Thanks, Santana. I won't let you down."

With those words, I knew she would blow everyone away with her 'audition'. And she did, of course. As I had predicted, everyone loved Brittany's dance moves and she easily got accepted.

Now we were sitting in the back of the class, listening to Berry ranting about yet another Broadway song but I had tuned her out as soon as I had taken a seat. I had other things to think about right now. Like how was I going to ask Brittany to the game? I knew it's a lame thing to think about but I couldn't just ask her, right? Or could I?

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, taking a glance towards Brittany. She seemed lost in her own world, tapping her hands against her thighs to an imaginary beat. _So adorable._

Fuck it, I'm Captain Santana Lopez; if I want to ask a girl to the game then I just do so. What's the point in stalling things, right? Right.

I cleared my throat and tapped Brittany lightly on her shoulder. She turned her head towards me, smiling softly. _Here goes nothing._ "H-hey." My voice croaked and I coughed. _Way to go, Lopez._

Brittany looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I was blushing furiously and looked away slightly. I saw Brittany nodding and turning her head back to the front of the class.

"Doyouwanttocometothegamelater?" I let out in one shaky breath. _Smooth, very smooth._

"What?" Brittany was staring at me with confusion in her eyes and I took a deep breath.

"Do you maybe, uh want to come…" I cleared my throat before continuing "to watch our game later?

"Oh." Brittany's rosy cheeks became a tad darker as she blushed. "I would love to."

"Yes!" I did a fist pump but sunk deeper in my chair as Brittany let out a cute giggle. "Sorry." I had meant to do that inwardly. I just couldn't contain my happiness. She said yes.

_Brittany POV_

Last period had just ended, I got just enough time to stuff everything in my locker and pay a visit to the bathroom before the game started. I didn't understand much about volleyball but watching Santana play was by far the most enjoyable thing to do. She would be all concentrated and serious at one point to then act all goofy and playful the other. I learned that as captain she had obtained quite the respect of her teammates, they listened to her and took her comments as champions. She was completely in her element on that field.

As I walked closer towards my locker, I noticed that Brent was leaning against my locker. "Hey BB, what are you doing here?"

"I think you know what I'm doing here, Britt. You've been avoiding me all day." He gave me an incredulous look and crossed his arms over his chest.

I winced and gulped. "Not all day." It was true, in school I couldn't really avoid him, but I definitely could at home.

"No, but you were this morning. You didn't say a word to me and you walked to school." Normally we would go to school together in his car but this morning I had slipped out of the house before he had finished his breakfast. Effectively avoiding talking to him during the trip to school. He turned so that his back was now resting against my locker and stared straight at me.

"I just felt like walking, something wrong with that?" I shrugged and tilted my head to the side.

He rolled his eyes. "You can't avoid me forever, Britt. I just want to know what happened last night. Is it cause of your–"

"No." I cut him off before he could say _that _word. "Dad just got mad because I failed a test, okay. Nothing else." I tightened my hold on the strap of my bag and averted my gaze. It wasn't a complete lie. Dad had been mad because of my grades.

Brent sighed and placed a hand on my shoulder "Britt."

I stepped out of his hold. "I don't want to talk about it anymore. Could you now remove yourself from my locker, I got to go." He raised his hands up in defeat and stepped away from my locker. I quickly stuffed everything inside and slammed my locker close. I turned and left without another word.

"Britt." He called after me but I just kept on walking. "Come on. I'm just worried about you. Britt!" I shook my head angrily and ignored his calls, walking straight to the gym without giving him another glance.

/

It was 2-0 for WMHS Yellow Tigers and it seemed as though we were about to win this set as well. Then it would be 3-0 and according to the cute, little grandma sitting to my left, meant that we won. But the further they went into the set, the more they started to struggle to keep ahead of the other team. The Cardinals managed to overpower them and suddenly they were ahead of Santana's team with 1 point. Once again according to the cute, little grandma, a team should have 25 points and have at least two points difference than the other team.

There was a lot of commotion on the field so I turned back to see what had happened. One of Santana's teammates was pointing and yelling at the umpire. I cocked my head and watched in confusion. _What just happened_?

I listened closely to what they were saying. "That wasn't net foul, I didn't touch the net."

"Mandy! Calm down, okay." Santana grabbed her by the shoulders and brought all the focus on her.

"I'm telling you, I didn't touch it."

"Okay, alright. I believe you, now calm down. I'll talk to the umpire, but first all of you need to calm down." She tried to get her teammates to calm down.

Mandy wasn't having any of it, though. "I didn't touch it. I swear." She tried to shrug Santana's hands of off her.

"HEY! Do you want me to get you off the field?" Santana's grip tightened on the girls shoulders and she looked at her sternly. A simple shake of Mandy's head was all she got in responds. "Then calm the fuck down." Santana let go of her shoulders and took a single step back, watching what Mandy would do. When they all had visibly relaxed, Santana let out an "Alright." and stepped up to the umpire.

While Santana was talking to the umpire, I saw the others taking a small break to calm down. I still didn't really know what had happened but it must have been something serious if everyone was going crazy.

"Your girlfriend knows how to handle her team well." A voice next to me spoke up and I turned my head, staring at the cute, little grandma with wide eyes.

Did she just said- "M-my girl..friend?"

She nodded. "Yes, the one that's talking to the umpire right now. The one you've been cheering on for the whole game. She does a good job as captain." I saw her pointing towards Santana.

"Yeah she's good. She's not my girlfriend, though. Just a friend. Who's a girl." I explained quickly. I have been cheering for Santana the whole game, but that's because I don't know any of the other girl's names.

"Oh, I'm sorry for assuming." I shook my head in understanding and just dropped the whole subject. I turned my gaze back towards the field and saw that Santana had returned to her teammates, they were standing in a circle, discussing something.

I once again focused on what Santana was saying. "We have to get back in the game. We let this set slip through our fingers and that can't happen again. I know everyone is pretty aggravated that we lost this one but we can't let them get in our heads. This is our set, our game, and our victory. Now let's go!"

/

Half an hour later I was waiting on the bleachers for Santana. She had been talking to the umpire for the last few minutes and I didn't wanted to interrupt her. So I stayed seated and waited patiently for her to be done.

I waved slightly when she finally walked up towards me and stood up once she was standing in front of me. Before I realized what I was doing, I had her wrapped up in a tight hug and congratulated her on winning. It appeared to be quite a shock for her as well, but she quickly wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me back, whispering a 'thank you' in my ear. The hug was so nice and perfect; it made me think back to what the cute, little grandma said earlier. I hadn't thought about Santana in that way, yet. She had only just become my friend but being here in her arms, I thought I wouldn't mind if we were something more. I didn't want the hug to end and I reluctantly let her go after a while.

I smiled softly. "That was a good game, thank you for asking me to come."

"I'm glad that you came." It was her turn to blush and she fidgeted under my gaze. "I was uhm.. wondering if you had anything else planned tonight."

I thought for a moment but then shook my head. "No, I'm free."

Santana nodded and bit down on her bottom lip. "Do you maybe want to join us? We're going to breadsticks to celebrate."

"I … don't know." I knew there would be lots of noise and Santana's teammates all seemed pretty nice so I hadn't really anything to be worried about but I was still a bit unsure.

"You don't have to, I just thought it would be nice to have you there." Santana quickly backtracked and she tried to sound indifferent but I still could detect the sadness in her voice.

"O-okay. But only if it's okay with everyone else if I join." I didn't want to intrude.

The smile Santana gave me let me know that I had made the right choice so I pushed all my worries to the back of my head. "Don't worry, they won't mind." I nodded and Santana pointed at the doors behind her. "I have to take a shower first, though. Maybe you could wait by the lockers?" She looked at me expectantly so I nodded again.

I watched Santana skip towards the doors in her ridiculous tight, short shorts. Seriously it hardly left anything to your imagination, it hugged her curves perfectly. Wait, why am I even looking at her ass? I'm totally blaming the cute, little grandma for putting these thoughts in my head.

_Santana POV_

After a loud and delicious celebration meal at Breadstix, Christine announced that they were going to continue their celebration party at her house and that everyone was invited. Brittany had been in the bathroom at that time so I told them that I had to ask her first and that we would join them later, maybe.

"Where did everyone go to?" Brittany asked as soon as she sat down across from me again.

"They took the party to a more secluded place. I told them we'll join them later." I smiled and shrugged lightly.

"Oh."

"If you want to, that is." I quickly added when I saw some uncertainty cross in her eyes.

Brittany ran her tongue over her bottom lip and looked at me hopefully. "Could we maybe stay here a bit longer before I decide something?"

"Of course, I'm sure they'll be partying 'till sunrise so there is no rush." I let out a giggle and smiled when she visible relaxed again.

"Thank you."

There was a comfortable silence where both of us downed the last of our drinks and changed shy glances. I could tell that Brittany was eager to talk to me but unsure of what to say so I choose to speak up myself, hoping it would loosen her up a bit.

"Did you enjoy yourself so far? I know the girls can be a hand full sometimes." They all had different characters and were of different age so it proved to be quite difficult to keep up with them at times, surely if it's the first time.

She shrugged and grinned. "They're okay, a little crazy but in the good way."

I laughed at that. "They sure are."

We talked for a while longer until Brittany suddenly said that she wanted to go and see what the party was all about. We both agreed though that we needed something different to wear than the clothes we were wearing right now.

"How about we meet up at the location?" It would be faster if the both of us would change clothes at the same time.

"Sounds good, how do I know where to be, though?"

"Uhm.. Give me your phone, I'll text you the address." Brittany grabbed her phone and I quickly inserted my phone number in it. Then I took mine and send her a text. "There, I'll text you the address later. Is that okay?" Brittany nodded and then we both went our separate ways, to change clothes and with a promise to meet up at the party.

/

I was wearing one of my striped, low-cut dresses that hugged my body tightly, covered up with a leather jacket since it was a little chill outside. I opted to wear high heeled boots, hoping that I would be as tall as Brittany for a change. My loopy earrings dangled with every stepped I took while I struggled a bit with the bracelet around my wrist.

I almost bumped against Brittany as the bracelet was giving me a lot of trouble. I quickly steadied my feet on the ground and took in the features of the beauty in front of me. Brittany was wearing a short navy blue strapless dress, which showed of her legs, which went on forever. The dress was tight and hugged her small waist perfectly. I gulped audibly as I finally reached the ocean blue eyes, which were staring back at me. _Damn, what a way to leave me speechless. _

"San..?" It felt like someone finally switched my ears back on again, I didn't know how many times Brittany had called out for me but the worried look in her eyes told me that it was more then once. "Santana? Are you all right? You're all flustered." I was indeed blushing furiously and looked away quickly, gulping again.

When I found my voice again, I spoke up, "I'm okay, let's uh… go inside." I was in desperate need of a drink. This was quickly becoming an interesting evening.

The party was in full swing, sweaty teenagers where grinding against each other in the middle of the living room while others were just hanging around the house, most of them already smashed or passed out on the ground. I scrunched up my nose when some dumb jock leaned in too close and pushed him out of the way, causing him to fall on the ground. Shrugging, I reached behind me and grabbed Brittany's hand, making my way towards the kitchen/bar.

I saw Riley leaning against the counter and stepped up next to her, pulling Brittany beside me. "C'tain, you made ithhh. Misssssed you." She slurred and slung her arm around my neck, pulling me against her. Well, more like leaning against me.

"Yet you didn't wait for me to become drunk." I laughed lighthearted and with a shrug Riley pushed her cup in my hands.

"Issss too good." I shook my head and looked around the house, searching for any trace of all the others.

"Where is the rest?" Riley shrugged again and pointed at the crowd. I gently pried her arm from around me and leant her against the counter again. "Be careful, alright?" She waved me off and slurred some more nonsense. I turned my attention back at Brittany and nodded over to all the liquor on the counter. "What do you want?"

"Something fruity."

"Fruity." I tapped my finger against my chin and then smiled. "I can dig that." I made my way over to the bottles and mixed up a drink for the both of us, handing Brittany her cup once I was done. She put the cup to her lips and took a tentative sip of her drink. Brittany hummed and beamed at me. "Good?"

She licked her lips slowly and smacked them together "So good. What is in it?"

"Ah, that's a secret." The look she gave me when I said that was priceless.

"What, no. Tell me." I laughed and shook my head, walking back towards the living room to find an unoccupied couch. Brittany was quick to follow me and pulled at the back of my dress. "Come on, San." I stopped dead in my tracks when the nickname left her lips, causing Brittany to walk straight into me. "S-sorry, I didn't realize you stopped."

I turned around quickly, spilling some of my drink, and looked up at her. "Say it again."

She looked at me in confusion. "Say what again?"

"You called me San."

"Oh." It dawned on her and she lowered her head. "Sorry, it must have slipped passed my lips."

I tilted her head back up at me and smiled bright. "Don't be sorry, I liked it."

"Really?" Her already rosy cheeks became a shade darker and it spread out towards the tips of her ears.

"Yeah, come on now, let's sit down." I grabbed her hand again and made my way over to a couch. The night was still young but I could already tell it was going to be to remember.

* * *

**A/N: Still going good?**

**Not much to say, other than that I think I may be a bit more busy in the upcoming weeks. But I'll do my best to update as fast as possible. **

**Gimme some love :: R&R**


	5. Chapter 5 I'm here

**A/N: Sorry for any leftover mistakes! Hope you enjoy the fic.**

**To AlabamaMiles : I won't give away when I'll give an explanation of Britt's condition.. But I can tell you that it'll be in one of the upcoming chapters so be sure to continue reading.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any songs in this fanfic.**

**Big thanks to my beta: Evoli321**

* * *

_Brittany POV_

We had moved from the couch over to the makeshift dance floor when I told Santana that I wanted to dance. Everyone around us was already too drunk so I was less self-conscious and didn't care who watched. I just wanted to dance. So as soon as I had pulled Santana onto the dance floor, I threw my hands up in the air and let loose, dancing gracefully to the beat. Santana stared at me for a few long seconds before she started to dance, too, getting lost in the music. I had never seen Santana dance before, but the way she was swaying her hips was captivating. I matched her hip movements and unconsciously took a step closer, causing our thighs to brush occasionally. My breath hitched and a tingle shot through my body, but I smiled when Santana didn't push me away or took a step back. We continued to dance like that for a while.

Then I made a mistake of closing the distance between our bodies, slipping a leg between her thighs so that our fronts touched. She seemed to snap back to reality and stopped dancing, taking two big steps backwards, effectively bumping against the sweaty, dancing jock behind her. She mumbles out a quick apology and said she'll get us another drink. Pouting, I watched her retreating body until she rounded the corner. My shoulders slumped. Why did she leave? I thought we were having fun...

Feeling dejected, I was about to step off the dance floor and get some much-needed fresh air, when someone grabbed my wrist and pulled me against them. I glanced over my shoulder and stared into hazel green eyes of some guy I've never met before. His dilated pupils eyeing me up and down.

"Dance with me." He slurred and I shook my head, trying to pull my wrist out of his hold.

His grip on my wrist tightened as his other arm sneaked around my waist. "Let me go." I desperately wiggled body, wanting nothing more than to get away. My movements seemed to fuel him on even more. He held me tight and grinded his crotch against my ass. "Let go." I whimpered as tears started to form in the corner of my eyes. I wondered why no one around me pulled him off me but then I remembered that everyone was obviously too drunk to notice. To them we were just another couple dancing, albeit closely, to the songs.

I closed my eyes and wished that the song would end so that I could go home to lock myself up safely in my room. Tears made their way down my cheeks, probably leaving two black streaks of mascara on their path. One moment, I could feel his rough hands roaming over my cloth-covered stomach and another I was abruptly pulled forward forcefully. The guy lost his grip and I fell forward, colliding into the person who had pulled me out of his hold. A gentle arm wrapped around my waist and dark brown eyes pierced into mine. Santana. I relaxed in her hold and sighed in relief. Santana's concerned eyes roamed over my body, which made an involuntary shiver to run up my spine.

The guy drunkenly reached out for my wrist, which he grabbed painfully tight, pulling me back towards him. "She's mine, go find someone else." I winced and tried to pry his hand off my wrist. Too busy looking at my wrist I didn't see how Santana's eyes darkened, anger flashing through them. The hand that was holding me suddenly let go of my wrist and I smiled a little in victory. But the flash of dark brown hair that passed by, made me look back up right in time to see Santana landing a blow to the guys nose. The blood that was already trickling down his chin indicated that that was the second time she had hit him.

"First off, she isn't _yours. _And second, if you wantto keep your tiny dick, I suggest you keep your filthy hands to yourself." Santana angrily spat at the guy, who was holding onto his nose with tears in his eyes. He nodded quickly, not wanting to anger her any more. I watched her give him one last bitchy glare before she turned towards me and carefully placed a hand on the small of my back, pushing me gently towards the exit. She stopped once more and turned back to the guy. "Oh and lastly, if you value your pathetic little life, you will never come near us again, let alone look in our direction. Is that clear?" The guy nodded once again and quickly scrambled out of our sight.

We made our way outside into the cool evening air. I went over to an empty bench on the sidewalk and sat down, feeling Santana dropping down next to me. Sighing, I rubbed the forming bruise on my wrist because, it stung as hell. A gasp coming from next to me caused me to look towards Santana. She was staring at my wrist as well and tentatively reached out to touch the skin. The soft touch of her fingertips on my skin sent tingles up my arm and warmth spread through my body, making me blush slightly. "Does it hurt?" Her voice was so soft, that I almost didn't hear her.

"A little." I pouted and shivered when a cold breeze blew passed us. I forgot to take a jacket with me and the thin fabric of my dress wasn't really helping my case right now.

"Here-" I was suddenly enveloped with warmth as Santana wrapped her leather jacket around my shoulders. Slipping my arms into the sleeves, I wrapped my arms around myself and bought the collar closely around my face. Santana's perfume invaded my senses and I hummed contently. I loved her scent.

"Wait, what about you?" I noticed that she was now only wearing her dress; I didn't like that idea.

"I'm okay… but I don't know if I'll still be in a couple of minutes. Maybe we could go sit in my car?" I nodded my head and smiled. That sounded much better. The car heater would warm us both.

Once we were seated in Santana's car, with the heater on the highest, she looked at me and cleared her throat. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you anywhere else?"

I shook my head and let out a puff of air. "Just my wrist." I subconsciously wrapped my fingers around it. "Thank you for coming back and you know… getting him off me."

"I shouldn't have left you alone. I should have known that leaving you with those drunken guys wasn't a good idea." Santana gripped the steering wheel so tight that her knuckles turned white. "I don't want to think about what would had happened if I hadn't returned."

I placed my hand on hers and pried it off the steering wheel, pulling it in my lap as I laced her fingers through mine. "But you did and I'm okay. Please don't beat yourself up for something that neither of us knew would happen." My thumb caressed her skin gently while my gaze was fixed on her face.

She looked from our entwined hands to my face and she nodded slightly. "Okay."

"Good." I smiled and looked around, not letting go of her hand. "Now what do we do?"

Santana shrugged. "I could drive you home or we could go somewhere, although I don't think there isn't much open other than bars and clubs." She looked over at me and shrugged again.

"Could you maybe drive me home? I think I've had enough excitement for one day. If that's okay with you, though." I smiled softly. I didn't wanted to leave her and go back home just yet but I was pretty tired. I usually never went out so my body wasn't used to being out and about for this long.

"Of course." She smiled back but the sadness in her voice was audible.

I couldn't bare to see or hear her sad so I quickly asked "Maybe we could have lunch together tomorrow?"

Santana smiled bright and nodded her head repetitively, which made me giggle softly. "I would love to."

"It's a date, then." Once those words escaped my mouth I quickly clamped my mouth shut. "I didn't mean… I uh…"

"It's okay, Brittany. I'll just forget you said that." My heart dropped, I didn't want her to forget. But if that was what she wanted then I guess I would have to go with that. I smiled and nodded, hoping that I was able to mask away my sadness. "Let's get you home, okay?" I nodded again, not trusting my voice right now.

The drive to my house was spent in silence, both of us lost in our own minds. I looked down at my lap and smiled when I saw that Santana's hand was still entwined with mine. I ran my thumb over her skin again and smiled at her when she looked over at me. The smile I got in return turned my stomach upside down and gave me some hope again.

When we arrived at my house, I reluctantly let go of her hand so that we could get out of the car. I walked up the porch and reached under the doormat for the house key. I never bothered to take one with me, in case I would lose it somewhere. As I had opened the door, I placed the key back and turned around to face Santana.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow then?" I asked in a soft voice, hoping that we'd still be getting lunch together.

"Yes. Uhm, you could send me a text when you're awake and then I'll come pick you up. Is that good?" Santana sucked her bottom lip in her mouth and tilted her head to the side.

That sounded good to me, that way I could sleep in a bit longer than usual. "Yes, that's perfect."

"Okay." She rocked on the ball of her feet, waiting for me to say anything else. I didn't know what else to say, though. I just really wanted to give her a hug. Friends hug, right? "Okay then, I'll be going then. See you tomorrow."

"Can… C-can I give you a hug?" I blushed furiously and scuffed my foot against the pavement.

She giggled and nodded. "I thought you'd never ask." I rolled my eyes playfully and pulled her in a tight hug, basking in her warmth. All too soon the hug ended and Santana walked back to her car, waving back at me when she drove away.

I sighed and closed the front door behind me, moving up to my bedroom. Once I slipped underneath the covers, I thought back to today. The cute, little grandma that had assumed me and Santana were girlfriends, Santana who pulled away while we were dancing, the aggressive drunken guy, all the touches and gestures, me blurting out the word 'date' and to finish it off, the oh-so-wonderful hug to end the night.

I still had a lot of thinking to do but after tonight I was certain that my feelings towards Santana were more than just friendship. I hadn't realized it before but it all seemed pretty clear to me now. I didn't know what Santana thought about it, though. Seeing that she wanted to forget how I called tomorrow's lunch a 'date', she must not feel the same way about me. I sighed and rolled over onto my side. If I wanted to stay friends with Santana, it would be better to keep my feelings hidden from her. I sighed again and drifted off in a restless slumber.

_Santana POV _

When I got back home, I threw myself on my bed and screamed in my pillow. I could not believe that I told Brittany that I'd just forget she said that tomorrow's lunch would be a date. What was I thinking? Of course I want it to be a date. It's all I ever wanted and now that she said it, I told her to just forget about it. Unbelievable.

I guess that the fact that she wanted to take her words back immediately after she said them also made me think that she didn't wanted it to be a date after all. I groaned and turned over on my back. Maybe she totally didn't mean to say those words. She must not have the same feelings for me. I better not act on my feelings and just keep a fair distance to keep Brittany as a friend. I nodded to myself and drifted off.

The next morning, my sister barging in my bedroom woke me up. The sunlight that streamed through my curtains indicated that it was around noon, although the clock on my nightstand told me otherwise. I groaned and threw my pillow at my sister, which she barely dodged. "Don't you have anything betters to do than wake me up at such an unacceptable hour?"

Spencer raised an eyebrow and glanced at my clock. "Unacceptable hour? It's 10 in the morning."

I pulled the covers over my head and groaned again. "I only got back at 4."

"Oh, I know." She chuckled and tugged on the covers, letting it slip off my head.

It was my turn to raise an eyebrow in her direction. "Then why are you waking me up? Let me sleep." I scowled and pushed her shoulder. "Go, LEAVE."

Spencer huffed and slapped my butt over the covers. "Alright, if you don't want to know what I've found."

She always does that, being mysterious about everything instead of just telling what she found. "Urgh, fine. Show me."

"Nah, you can just go back to sleep."

"Spence! Just show me." I hate getting mad at her but it's too early for her to be all mysterious right now. I needed her to get to the point and show me what she f-

A black leather bag dangled in front of my face. "Looks familiar?" Hell yeah, that was Brittany's. Last night she had asked if she could leave it in my car since she didn't wanted it to get lost at the party. I totally forgot that it was in there.

"How did you get that?" I was certain that I had locked my car when I went inside the house.

Spencer shrugged and pulled out my car keys from her pocket. She took my car without asking; I narrowed my eyes at her and was about to lay a verbal smack when she spoke up. "It lay in the backseat of your car. I thought it was yours but the ID is from one Brittany S. Pierce."

Wait, what? "You looked inside her bag?" Does she seriously have no respect for other's stuff?

She held up her hands and back up a little. "I didn't mean to but someone was calling her phone and you know, it could have been important so I picked up."

I gaped at her, mouth and eyes wide open. "You picked up?" Wow, no respect at all.

"Yes, jeez San, stop freaking out so much. I picked up and it appeared to be Brittany who called with her brother's phone to find out where she misplaced hers." Spencer looked at me like she just had done the most normal thing in the world.

"You talked to Brittany."

"Yes I did. What the hell is wrong with you, San?" When I didn't reply, she shook her head and got up to leave. "Oh and before I forget, you need to go and bring it back to Brittany." She pointed at the bag and left my room. "NOW SAN!" She shouted from the hallway and I snapped into action. After hurriedly changing into some appropriate clothes and grabbing both Brittany's bag, and mine, I slipped into my car and drove off towards her home.

/

I was about to ring the doorbell of the Pierce's home when the door flew open, revealing a gorgeous middle-aged woman. Her hair was as blonde as Brittany's, maybe a tad lighter. She gasped, dark blue eyes widening in shock when she noticed me standing right in front of her, my hand still mid-air, ready to ring the bell.

"H-hi, is Brittany home?" I lowered my arm and smiled politely at the woman.

"Yes, just a moment." She smiled back politely and went back inside. I could hear murmurs of people talking and then both the woman and Brittany appeared at the door. "Be careful, sweetie." The woman kissed Brittany on the forehead.

Brittany nodded and smiled bright. "I will, Mom. Bye."

"It was nice meeting you." Brittany's mom said to me when she passed by.

I smiled. "It was nice meeting you, too." I watched Brittany's mom step into her car and once she drove away I turned back towards Brittany, who had been watching my every move. "Your mom is pretty. I can see where you got your looks from."

Brittany blushed and lowered her gaze, speaking with a soft voice. "Thank you."

"So, I guess that this belongs to you." I held out her bag and giggled when she nodded, her ears turning an even darker shade from slight embarrassment. "If something is missing from your bag then you can blame my sister, she's the one who found it."

"I know, she was the one who picked up my phone." Brittany nodded but then titled her head to the side. "Why didn't you tell me that you have a sister?" Brittany pouted and crossed her arms.

I groaned and buried my head in my hands. "She embarrassed me, didn't she?"

"No she didn't." Brittany shook her head and explained what had happened when she had called her own phone.

_Flashback_

"_Hello?" Spencer answered the phone while looking for some kind of ID in the bag that her sister had left on the backseat. _

"_Who is this?" A confused voice said from the other line._

_Spencer scoffed when the other person didn't even greet her back, how rude. "I could ask you the same question."_

"_This is Brittany. Why do you have my phone?" Spencer had finally found the ID and the bag indeed belonged to her sister's new best friend, Brittany S. Pierce. _

"_Ah Brittany! This is Spencer." She replied._

_There was silence on the other line and Spencer thought that Brittany had already hung up; she pulled the phone from her ear and saw that she was still connected. She quickly listened again when Brittany's voice rang over the phone again. "Do we know each other?" _

"_I guess my sister hasn't told you about me then. This is Spencer Lopez, sister of Santana Lopez." _

"_Oh. Hi." A pause. "Why do you have my phone, though?" Brittany frowned in confusion._

_Spencer laughed lighthearted and shook her head. "I found your bag in Santana's car, you must have left it in here someday." She knew that Santana had gone out last night but she wasn't sure with who so she didn't wanted to imply that she had been with Brittany. _

"_Right! I did, yesterday." Brittany let out a relieved sigh. "I thought I had lost it again."_

"_Nope, it's right here." Spencer held up the bag even though Brittany couldn't see it._

"_Thank god. I'll come and get it." Spencer could hear rustling on the other line and then silence again. "I don't know your address, though." Brittany said in a soft voice, slightly embarrassed. _

_Spencer chuckled. Brittany was absolutely adorable. "Don't worry about it Brittany, I'll send Santana to bring it back to you."_

"_Oh no, I don't want to trouble her." Brittany shook her head; Santana must still be asleep at this hour._

"_I insist."_

_Brittany sighed; Spencer was just as stubborn as Santana. "Okay then. Thank you, Spencer."_

"_It's no problem, it was nice talking to you, Brittany." Spencer smiled in victory. _

"_You too. Uhm, bye?"_

"_Bye."_

_End flashback_

I bit down on my bottom lip once Brittany was done with telling me what happened and nodded my head in understanding. "Yup, she totally embarrassed me."

"What do you mean? Did she say something wrong?" Brittany raised an eyebrow in confusing and I could see her thinking back to anything that Spencer could have possibly said wrong about me.

"No no, of course not. She just embarrassed me with being herself." I held up my hands and let out a breathy laugh. I saw that Brittany didn't understand what I was saying so I took her hand in mine and squeezed it gently. "It's nothing. So is it okay that we go out to lunch now? I still haven't eaten any breakfast, yet, so my stomach could use some early lunch."

This seemed to lighten Brittany up since she suddenly bounced on her feet and let out an excited "YES!"

I couldn't contain the huge smile that covered my face and the laugh that escaped my lips. "Great, let's go."

_Brittany POV_

Breadstix was fairly empty when we entered and it worried me a little. I would be more relaxed when there are more sounds around to overpower certain noises. I shook it off and decided to just concentrate on listening to Santana and try to keep a conversation going. Now wasn't a time to get triggered. Santana choose a booth in the back that was more secluded so that we could talk freely. Once we were seated and had given the waitress our orders, I asked, "So, tell me more about your family. If you're okay with telling me, though."

"Sure. Well as you know, I have an older sister, Spencer. She's in her first year of college and will be following in my dad's footsteps with becoming a cardiothoracic surgeon." Santana rolled her eyes but the smile she tried to contain told me that she was proud of her sister.

I gulped audibly and stared at her wide-eyed. "Wow, t-that's impressive." I couldn't even dream to become a doctor, not that I wanted to, though. "Will you be following your dad's footsteps, too?" I wondered when the waitress suddenly appeared next to us with out orders; she set our plates down and left with a polite 'enjoy'.

When the waitress was gone again, Santana shook her head and took a sip of her drink. "Nah, I'm thinking more about going into the music department. What about you?" She nodded over to me and smiled softly.

"I-I'm not sure yet." I actually considered going into the music department as well but I wasn't as confident as Santana.

"That's okay, we still got some time to think about it. I'll be happy to leave, though."

"Me too. I'm jealous of my brother since he gets to leave Lima already." Then it'll be just my parents and me. I wasn't looking forward for these last years in Lima without Brent. He always stands up for me against dad, then who's going to do that?

Santana must have noticed my suddenly turn in demeanor as she laid her hand over mine and ran her fingers over my skin gently. "Don't be sad Britt, you'll still have me, right?"

A smile broke through my face and I could feel the heat in my cheeks rising. She called me Britt.

"What are you smiling so creepily about?" Santana laughed softly but looked at me with confusion in her eyes.

I couldn't stop smiling, my cheeks started to hurt but I just couldn't stop. "You called me Britt."

She nodded "I know, it's only fair if you call me San that I can call you Britt, right?"

I bopped my head up and down so fast, it almost caused me a headache. We both smiled at each other and continued eating in silence for a while. It occurred to me that Santana hadn't told me anything about her parents, so I asked her to continue with telling about them. I learned that her mom was a lawyer and that both her parents want her to follow in their footsteps but she stubbornly refused to do so. In return I talked about my family even though I mostly left my dad out of it. We were talking about my brother when a small family of 4, 2 kids and their parents, sat down in the booth next to us. I smiled politely when they greeted us and then brought my attention back to Santana.

"I swear, Britt, he was so scary, with his chest all puffed out and his broad shoulders on display. He could have easily thrown me over your front lawn all the way back to my car."

Her nose was scrunched up and I had to keep from laughing out loud. "You were scared of Brent? My brother? Oh boy, that's hilarious." A little giggle escaped my lips.

"Hey, he can be pretty intimidating, okay?" I nodded and sucked my lower lip in my mouth. Seeing Santana blush in embarrassment made me pout sympathetically.

"You're right. He wouldn't hurt you, though. Well unless you hurt me in any way. He got in a lot of fights due to wanting to protect me. But other then that, he wouldn't hurt a fly."

Santana groaned and lowered her head to the table, burying it in her hands. "Not really helping my case, Britt."

I shrugged and giggled. "Just try to stay on his good side, San. Then you got nothing to be afraid off."

Santana huffed and it made me laugh silently, as not to embarrass or annoy her more, but the pout she was supporting wasn't helping.

/

We had opted to share our desserts since we couldn't decide between lemon cake and velvet cake. The silence that followed with us enjoying our desserts came with a prize for me, though. The little boy that had been sitting closest to me in the booth next to us couldn't help but thrum his fork against the surface. I had stopped mid-bite and looked over at the family, noticing that the parents were engrossed in a conversation and didn't pay any attention to their kids. No wonder the little boy was bored and wanted to entertain himself. I sighed and tried to block out the noises, turning back to my dessert.

Santana noticed my distress and asked if I was okay to which I stiffly nodded. She looked incredulous at me but seemed to decide to just drop it. I smiled at her and tried to bring some sort of conversation up again but the damage had already been done. It was like my ears could only focus on all the noises. It seemed to drown out anything that Santana was saying. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not now. My chest tightened and I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. I glared at each person that made any kind of noise, even if it was just a single cough. I closed my eyes tight and took a deep breath, wanting everyone to stop. My hands clenched into fists around my cutlery tightly. I couldn't take it anymore, I needed to get away. Now.

A gentle touch brought me back from my thoughts and I stared into concerned brown eyes, which somehow calmed me down a bit.

"Hey, are you okay?" Santana's voice was laced with worry; I could see all the questions floating behind her dark orbs.

I scraped my throat and let out a weak "Yeah, just… got to use the restroom for a moment." I rose to my feet and unclenched my fist that was still holding the cutlery tight, letting it drop next to my plate.

"Of course." She nodded and I hurriedly went to the bathroom, locking myself up in a cubicle. I breathed out at the silence that hung around the bathroom, closing the lid of the toilet and dropping down on it. I can't belief it happened while Santana was right in front of me. She must think I'm crazy now. Tears started to sting in my eyes but I was quick to brush them away. I couldn't cry. Not now.

"Brittany?" Santana's voice startled me as it cut through the silence of the bathroom.

"J-just a minute." I replied quickly and took another deep breath before flushing the toilet, I didn't use it but I had to make Santana belief that I did.

I stepped out of the stall and gave her a forced smile, walking over to the sinks to wash my hands. "Brittany?" She tentatively asked. "What happened in there?"

"W-what do you mean?" Damn it, she must have seen the whole process.

"You know what I mean, Britt." Santana took a step closer towards me and looked straight into my eyes, searching for some sort of explanation. "Tell me."

"I-I can't." Fresh tears formed in my eyes and I tried to push them back but it was already too late. _God, I'm such a crybaby._

Santana noticed my tears before they even had made their way down my cheeks and enveloped me in a hug. "It's okay, Britt." She held me tighter when I wrapped my arms tightly around her waist. "You don't have to tell, it's okay." The tears finally started to fall freely and a sob wracked through my body, jolting the both of us. "I'm here." Her hand rubbed soothing circles over my back and I buried my face in her neck. Normally I would have enjoyed this hug but since I was currently ruining her shirt with my tears, I rather wanted the ground to swallow me whole.

Once my sobs has subsided a bit she carefully pulled back and brought her hands to my cheeks, wiping away any trace of my tear tracks. "What can I do?"

"T-take me home. P-please."

* * *

**A/N: That was still a pretty fast update, right? Some of you may already know what Brittany has, but to those who don't: Be patient, it'll be explained before you know it!**

**Let me know your thoughts :: R&R**

**Or you know,, you can ask me questions about OTE on my tumblr.**


	6. Chapter 6 Questions

**A/N: Sorry for any leftover mistakes! Hope you enjoy the fic.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any songs in this fanfic.**

**Big thanks to my beta: Evoli321**

* * *

_Santana POV_

The drive back towards Brittany's house was a déjà-vu from last night, spent entirely in silence apart from the occasional sniff that Brittany let out. I was dying to ask what had happened to her but I kept my mouth shut. Now was not the time. Instead I replayed the incident again in my mind. One moment we're eating and talking peacefully and the next her eyes flashed from one side to another, anger flaring up behind them. I didn't know that Brittany, most innocent and bubbly girl in the world, could possibly possess such anger. She hadn't directed any of those anger filled glares at me but I couldn't deny that they scared me.

_Flashback, few hours earlier_

_When I noticed that Brittany hadn't answered the question I had previously asked, I looked up at her with furrowed brows. I tilted my head to the side and took in Brittany's demeanor. Her eyes were shut tightly, hands clenched into fists around her cutlery, nostrils flaring and her breath uneven. Worriedly I reached forward and placed my hand gently on hers. Blue eyes stared right back in mine and her ragged breathing slowed down. _

"_Hey, are you okay?" My voice was soft, careful not to anger Brittany more. Millions of questions went through my head but I pushed them down, waiting for her responds. _

_Brittany scraped her throat and let out a barely audible "Yeah, just… got to use the restroom for a moment." She rose out of her seat and made her way over to the bathrooms with quick steps. _

_I shook my head and looked around in confusion. What had just happened? Did I say something wrong? Was there someone here that made Brittany angry? Did this have something to do with whatever is wrong with her? I groaned in frustration and decided to see if Brittany was alright. _

_I pushed the bathroom door open and called out for Brittany, not even bothering to look for the right cubicle. "J-just a minute." Got replied before a toilet being flushed filled the quiet bathroom. _

_Brittany stepped out of the stall and sent a smile my way; it didn't reach her eyes, though._

_I fidgeted on my spot while she walked over to the sinks to wash her hands. The questions that had been floating in my head earlier made their presence known again and I just had to ask her. "Brittany? What happened in there?"_

"_W-what do you mean?" _

_I rolled my eyes slightly. Whom was she trying to fool? "You know what I mean, Britt." I took a step closer towards her and looked straight into her eyes. I needed her to know that I wasn't joking around, that I wanted to help somehow. "Tell me."_

"_I-I can't." the moment heavy tears rolled down her cheeks, my heart sunk to the bottom of my stomach. I quickly pulled her in my embrace; I couldn't just stand there and watch her cry._

"_It's okay, Britt." I held onto her tightly while the sobs that wracked through her, jolted both of your bodies. "I'm here." I rubbed soothing circles over her back. And though, her tears were ruining my shirt, I wasn't about to let go. I would hold her until she stopped crying, until she was okay again. Even if I had to send some glares at people who entered the bathroom, daring them to say anything, so be it. _

_Her sobs had finally subsided so I gently drew back, bringing my hands up to her cheeks to wipe away the tear tracks. "What can I do?" I asked tentatively, hoping she wouldn't just tell me to leave._

"_T-take me home. P-please." Her voice sounded so vulnerable that it broke my heart. I nodded and took her hand in mine, walking ahead of Brittany while she kept her gaze on the ground and hid away from any curious by passers. _

_End flashback_

Lost in my thoughts, I hadn't realized we had already arrived at Brittany's home. How we made it here without crashing was beyond me but that's something to wonder about another time. I spared a glance at Brittany, who was leaning against the window, staring straight ahead with a faraway look. Sighing softly, I undid both our seatbelts and stepped out of the car, towards her side.

I leaned in the car a bit so that Brittany's gaze fell upon me. "Hey, we're here." I smiled softly and offered my hand to help her out the car.

Brittany took a hold of my hand but didn't move for her spot; instead she looked at me with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry for ruining our lunch."

"It's okay, really." I smiled again, glad that she wasn't mad at me for some reason, and gently pulled her out of the car.

Once Brittany had opened the front door, I took a step back, thinking that this was where we part again. The hand that was holding mine prevented me from going very far, though. I looked from the pale hand up to her face, furrowing my brows. "What's wrong?"

Brittany bit down on her bottom lip and looked in the house, then back to me. "Do you, uhm… maybe want to come in?"

"I… Are you sure?" I was taken aback, not that I didn't wanted to go inside, but by how bold Brittany was.

"Yes. I haven't been such great company so far but I would really like it if we could spend a little more time together." She let out in one breath and blushed. "If you want to."

"Yes, yes I do want to." I nodded and smiled brightly.

/

I was sitting on Brittany's bed, looking around her bedroom while she was getting us something to drink. Her bedroom was almost exactly how I had imagined it to be.

Here and there hung a few posters against the bright blue painted walls while the name 'Brittany' was sprayed on another wall with graffiti. It looked pretty awesome but not something that I would want to have in my room. There were two more doors which I assumed led towards a bathroom and maybe a walk-in closet? Her desk was lined against the opposite wall with a music installation perched on top of it along with a laptop. And the window, which was situated right behind her bed, gave a good view of their garden.

"Sorry for the mess. I don't usually have anyone over." Brittany's voice startled me a bit as she walked into her room, her hands full with our drinks and some snacks.

"It's fine, you should see my room." I shook my head and laughed. There were a few clothes lying around but I didn't consider her room to be messy. Mine was way worse; if anyone would walk in my room they'd probably think there had been an explosion of some kind.

I grabbed my drink when Brittany gave it to me. "Thanks, are you sure that it's okay for me to be here?" The encounter with Brittany's dad hadn't been really all that pleasant. The moment we had entered the house, her dad had questioned why I was there and why Brittany hadn't told him she would bring someone home with her.

"I'm sorry, my dad is …" she trailed off, searching for the right word.

"Strict?" I questioned, trying to help out a little without saying something that could be offending towards her dad. I wasn't so sure what the relationship between her and her dad was but I wasn't about to jinx everything between us with saying that her dad was an asshole.

"That wasn't the word that I was going to use but, yeah, something like that." For a moment I considered asking what word she was thinking about then, but I thought better and didn't say anything.

There was a comfortable silence where we both took a sip of our drinks. It wasn't long before my thoughts went back to the incident from earlier. I couldn't keep silent anymore; I needed to know what was wrong. "Can I ask you something?"

Brittany snorted and looked at me with a smile. "You don't need permission to ask me something, San."

I nodded. "Right." There was another moment of silence where I was considering the best approach. "What happened earlier, … has it happened before?" I asked tentatively, watching Brittany's smile drop into a frown.

Brittany exhaled loudly and steered her gaze down at her duvet, biting down on her lip nervously. I was about to take my question back when I got a small nod in confirmation. "I've h-had it a few times already." She replied without looking up.

I nodded to myself and wondered if it was okay to continue asking questions. "Does it happen often?"

With a shake of her head, Brittany replied, "I try to avoid it as much as I can."

"I want to help you, Britt." I reached out and gently placed my hand on hers, giving it a soft squeeze.

Brittany nodded and looked up, directing her gaze towards mine. "I know you do. But I can't tell you, not yet at least."

I couldn't resist the pleading in her voice so I smiled softly and nodded, "I understand, I'll be here when you're ready."

_Brittany POV; The next day_

I sighed; this was the umpteenth time that our new neighbors were working on renovating their house. On any other day I wouldn't mind it that much but today I was trying to study for an upcoming test and the noises were not helping me. Even my earplugs that I use while taking the test in class were not helping. Groaning, I dropped my head on my desk and closed my eyes. I wasn't going to get anything done by staying here; the neighbors weren't going to stop any time soon.

Grabbing my bag, I stuffed everything I needed into it before changing into some sweats and leaving the house. I made my way over to the dance studio, two blocks down from where I lived. The owner, Andrew, let me use one of the rooms to dance whenever I want. It was a nice way to get away from everything for a while; those few hours easily became my favorite time spend. I smiled and greeted Andrew before making my way towards the back of the dance studio, opening the usual dance room I used.

After stretching a bit and putting my iPod in the dock, I turned to face the mirror and started to move to the music. My body moved across the floor effortlessly and soon I got totally lost in the movements, everything around me fading away. It was just the music and I now. No worries, no problems, no disorder. It felt good, almost a little too good. But I didn't care, this was my moment of peace, of freedom and it felt damn great.

I hadn't expected anyone to come in the room so when someone started to clap once the music ended; I leaped in the air, clutching my chest in fright. "Oh god, you scared the crap out of me."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Mike laughed lightheartedly and completely stepped into the room, throwing his bag next to mine. "Andrew told me you were here so I thought I'd come say hi."

"Why?" I furrowed my eyebrows and started at him in complete confusion. It's not like we know each other that well. I mean, yeah, he's in glee and he's a dancer too but that's all I know about him.

"Because we're friends." Mike shrugged and started to stretch his muscles.

My eyes widened in surprise. "We are?"

"Ouch." He pouted and placed his hands over his heart dramatically. "Of course we are. I consider everyone in glee club my friends, we're family. And since you're one hell of a dancer, like me, it's very easy to like you."

I smiled brightly; I didn't know that anyone would want to be my friend. I was still shocked that Santana had wanted to be my friend and was certain that some day she would get tired of me. She's so nice, though. Yesterday I was afraid she'd be annoyed that I didn't wanted to tell her what had happened but she was being so patient, telling me she'd wait for when I'm ready.

"Brittany?" Too lost in my thoughts I hadn't realized that Mike had been talking to me for a while now. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah." I scraped my throat. "Just lost in my thoughts for a moment."

"Oh, okay." He smiled and pointed to my iPod. "I was actually wondering if you'd mind a dance partner."

"I uh… no?" I didn't mind. I just never had danced along with someone else, what if I completely mess up?

"Awesome! Then you can teach me that routine you just did." Too late to say no now. Wait did he just say _I_ could teach _him_?

/

Clutching the strap of my bag tighter, I made my way over to the nearby park to study for a few more hours. I wouldn't be able to get everything in my head but at least I could do half of it. At least I hoped I could. Dancing with Mike had successfully calmed me down; it had been fun to dance with him. At first I was a bit hesitant but when he started to goof around, I loosened up and laughed along with his jokes.

I sat down on a secluded picnic table and started studying after taking out my books. Gnawing on the end of my pencil, I overlooked all the words I needed to study but didn't understand a word of. In the end I've looked around me more than I studied. My eyes followed a little bird hopping his way over the path, leaves whirling down before being swept up by another gush of wind. When a butterfly landed on my books, I studied it's color and watched on in fascination as it's wings fluttered. Rolling my eyes at myself, I blew my hair out of my face and tried to concentrate on my task ahead.

Another few minutes and many frustrated groans later; I was still stuck at the first page. This wasn't going as good as I would have liked it to go. If only someone could help me out a little. _If only._ I tapped my pencil against my chin and then nodded to myself, reaching into my bag to grab my phone. I fired away a quick text and waited, staring at the screen for a reply. A smile etched on my face and I tried to contain the happy squeal that was about to slip past my lips.

She was on her way.

_Santana POV_

When Brittany had sent me a text message, it took me less than a minute to bolt out of the door. The text sounded urgent and I didn't want Brittany to wait too long. I didn't know what possessed me but for some strange reason I opted to run towards the park instead of taking my car. So much for not making Britt wait long, huh?

Once I entered the park, I followed the directions that Brittany had given me earlier to where she was seated. It didn't take me long before I found the secluded area and saw her sitting by the picnic table. I stopped running and walked over towards her, taking deep breaths to calm my racing heart.

"Hey Britt." I puffed out and dropped down on the bench across from her.

Brittany smiled back in greeting but then rose on eyebrow in my direction. "Did you run?"

"Yeah, not such a great idea." I let out a breathy laugh and thanked Brittany when she handed me a bottle of water. _Handy_. Not sure why she had one with her but my throat was dry so I wasn't about to complain. "So what was the hurry?"

"I was hoping you could help me out with something." She sounded uncertain and I frowned as a blush spread onto her cheeks.

"Of course, what is it?"

Brittany bit down on her bottom lip and asked, "Have you studied for the Spanish test yet?"

I chuckled, "No, I never study for Spanish and besides, Mr. Schue's notes are terrible. No one can understand that." I shook my head in disapproval, not understanding how they could let Mr. Schue teach Spanish. Most of the time he doesn't understands half of what he was saying.

"Would you mind helping _me_ then?" Brittany didn't look up from where she was staring at the table and her ears turned bright red in embarrassment.

Placing my hand on hers, I reassured her that it was okay for her to ask and that she didn't need to be embarrassed. "Not at all, it'd be an honor," I laughed and reached out for some pen and paper. "Let's get started."

I watched as Brittany concentrated on the words in front of her, her eyebrows furrowed and her pink tongue poking out of the side of her mouth. I sat back and quietly got lost in watching her study.

/

Halfway through the notes, Brittany seemed deep in thought and I raised my eyebrow, wondering what she was thinking about. She turned her head and looked at me, curiosity written all over her face. "Can I ask something?"

"Of course, Britt," I nodded and smiled slightly, trying to mask my own curiosity.

"Why did you back away when we were dancing?"

I scratched my forehead. "Huh?" I wasn't following, what does Spanish have to do with dancing? Had Brittany been daydream about us dancing just yet? Or what?

Brittany quickly explained before I could voice any of my thoughts, "The party on Friday, you pulled away when we were dancing. Why?"

Party. Friday. It finally dawned on me. "O-oh. I didn't… I mean…" I sighed. "Okay, I'm just going to come out with it…" Brittany looked at me in confusion as I let out a shaky breath. "I like you, Britt. I like you more than just friends. And I got scared that once you realized you were dancing with me in a more than friendly way that you'd stop." It was my turn to blush and avoid her gaze, staring at the wooden table intensively.

Warm fingers under my chin, brought my gaze back towards Brittany. The sad look in her eyes was mixed with confusion and something else I couldn't quite place. "But I wanted to dance with you like that."

I sighed, I knew she did. The dejected look she had given me when I had backed away showed that she wanted to. But I couldn't help but think that we were going too fast. "I know. Just, things were going so fast and before I knew it, I was already walking away from you."

"You could've come back." She didn't sound mad but I couldn't help but apologize for being so stupid.

"I'm sorry, Britt." I lowered my head again, shamefully.

"Do you still like me?"

I nodded, "I do." I let out a shaky breath and hurriedly assured her that I would put my feelings aside if that's what it takes to stay friends. I didn't want to loose her. "I won't act on it, though, I promise. We can just stay friends, right?"

"No."

I gulped, "N-no?"

"I don't want to be friends." Tears started to well up in my eyes and my face fell at the words that had left Brittany's lips. "I want more than that."

"I get it- wait what?" I replayed her words over in my mind and I looked at her in slight shock. "You want more than friends? You'd d-date me?"

Brittany laughed and shrugged, "Is that your way of asking me out?"

I shook my head and took in a few breaths, willing the butterflies in my stomach to ease down a little. I had to do this right. I smiled brightly at her and took her hands in mine gently, giving both a squeeze. "Brittany Pierce, will you go on a date with me?"

"Yes!" She was out of her seat in a flash and hugged me tight, both our bodies shaking in laughter and excitement.

_Brittany POV_

I skipped inside the house, my cheeks were hurting from smiling so much but I couldn't care less. I was happy that only my brother was home at the moment and not my dad. Ruffling his hair, I walked passed him and sat down on the couch, leaning in his side.

He noticed my smile and a similar smile etched on his face. "What's gotten you so happy?"

"San asked me out on a date." I couldn't contain the light squeal that bubbled up in my throat.

Brent gasped and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, "She did? Oh wow, that's great, Britt! Where will you be going?" He sounded genuinely happy for me causing some of my worries to ease down.

"It's a surprise but… I don't know how to tell her that I don't want it to be in a public setting. What if I get triggered again, it would ruin our date. I'm not sure how much longer she'll be able to endure the not knowing what's wrong." I sighed and my shoulders dropped. All the way back home I couldn't help but think out all kinds of bad scenarios of what could go wrong during our date. It didn't stop me from being happy and excited but it did worry me.

"I'd say you tell her, if she doesn't accept it then at least you know where you two stand. Before things get even more complicated." Brent shrugged.

I turned my head and looked up at him, "You really think I should tell her?"

"I do. She knows something is up and it's only going to be a matter of time before she finds out. And I know you'd rather tell her yourself, on your own terms, right?" I nodded. I didn't want Santana to find out from someone else. "Then you should tell her."

My eyes widened, "Right now?"

"Of course not, Britt. Not unless you want to." He reassured me and I breathed out in relief. I still had some time to tell Santana. "Tell her when you feel it's right, just don't wait too long."

/

Shifting nervously in my seat, I looked at my phone and groaned. I had been thinking about calling Santana for the past 2 hours but I chickened out each time. I wanted to call to ask if she wanted to meet before school tomorrow so that I could tell her about my disorder. I'd have a whole evening and night to think about how I could tell her and it seemed like a good idea. At least it seemed so right now. I'm not sure if it'll still be such a great idea tomorrow morning.

I groaned and picked up my phone, dialing Santana's number quickly so I couldn't back out again. The phone started ringing and I tapped my foot against the floor impatiently.

There was a click and then Santana's greeting filled the other line. I licked my dry lips and hastily replied with a greeting of my own, "Hey, it's Brittany."

Santana giggled while she replied, "I know, Britt. What's up?"

"I want to tell you." I winced at how fast I was talking.

"Tell me what?" Santana's voice asked in confusion.

I ran a hand through my hair and held my phone between my ear and shoulder, rubbing my clammy hands over each other. "Tell you what's wrong with me."

There was an awkward silent moment on both of our sides before Santana seemed to understand what I was talking about. "Oh! Okay."

"Uhm… I don't want to do it over the phone, though. Could we maybe meet somewhere tomorrow, before school?" I worriedly bit my bottom lip, hoping she'd be okay with waiting another day.

"Of course, how about the picnic table we used earlier? It's pretty secluded so there won't be many other people around. If that's okay with you."

I nodded but then remembered that she couldn't see me. "That's perfect."

"Alright then. See you tomorrow, Britt."

"Bye San." I ended the call and dropped my head on my desk.

Tomorrow would be the day my life would take yet another turn. But would it be a good turn?

* * *

**A/N: Just letting everyone know that I won't be updating fast anymore. Both my beta and I are in college and don't always have the time to write/correct the chapters. Not saying that it'll take forever, it just might take a few weeks. Very sorry for that. **

**Soooo, who's excited for the next chapter? I know I am! **

**Thank you for all the reviews,**

**R & R**


	7. Chapter 7 Triggered

**A/N: Sorry for any leftover mistakes! Hope you enjoy the fic.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any songs in this fanfic.**

**Big thanks to my beta: Evoli321**

* * *

_Santana POV_

Fidgeting in my seat, I turn my head to the empty seat next to me and sigh. Anger, worry and sadness are keeping me on high alert as time passes by. And I've been on high alert since this morning. Since Brittany decided not to show up. Last night I had been so happy that she finally wanted to share what she has with me. But it all got crushed when morning rolled around without any sight of Brittany. I had waited, thinking that she might just had been running late but once it started to get late I went to school, hoping she would be there with a good explanation.

Now, I was expecting her to barge into the classroom, flustered from hurrying and muttering an apology under her heavy breaths. But she never came. Her seat stayed empty for the rest of the day and it angered me as much as it worried me.

The text messages I've sent her never got replied, the calls I made never got answered. No one knew where she was; neither did anyone know where her brother was. It gave me a little hope and I wondered if Spencer had Brent's number so I could reach out to them. Or was I going overboard? I sighed, maybe I should better wait for tomorrow.

I mean, Brittany could just be sick, right? She was probably asleep when I texted or called. Yeah, I shouldn't worry. Brittany would be fine again tomorrow and she would apologize for everything. I smiled and shook my head. Brittany always apologizes for stuff she wasn't responsible for.

When the next day arrived, Brittany still wasn't present and the worry that had settled in my chest the day before only intensified. It angered me that I hadn't heard anything from her, though. How hard could it be to send one simple text to tell me that she's okay? I groaned out in frustration and slammed my locker close, scaring the guy next to me.

"What's with the long face, C?" I turned around to face Riley who was standing beside me with an unreadable expression.

I pushed myself away from my locker and started walking towards the school's parking lot. "I'm fine, what are you doing here?"

"You haven't talked to any of us in 2 days, Cap. And you weren't focused on practice yesterday. It affects the whole team." Riley was quick to fall in line with me, walking along to my car.

Biting down on my bottom lip, I winced, "Oh… I hadn't realized."

"Yeah, so talk to me, C. What's been on your mind?" Riley placed a hand on my shoulder and effectively stopped me in my tracks. I sighed and turned to face her, sucking my bottom lip in my mouth.

"I'm angry. And worried." I actually only trust Riley with voicing such emotions since she won't rat me out like everyone else. Maybe that's why she came to talk to me and not anyone else of the team.

"About Brittany?"

I stared at her with wide eyes and mouth agape. "How did you know?"

Riley let out a breathy laugh and patted me on the bag. "You're kinda obvious with your longing stares in her direction. You can fool everyone else but not me, Santana. I've known you too long to not notice that you love Brittany."

I sputtered, "L-love?"

"Oh boy, please don't tell me you haven't even realized your own feelings towards her." She tilted her head to the side and looked at me in disbelief.

"That's not it. I do have feelings for Britt, I just wouldn't go as far as saying I love her, yet. I only just asked her out on a date." I muttered under my breath and flushed bright red.

"YOU DID? No way!" Riley clapped excitedly and flung her arms around me, pulling me into a tight hug.

I wrapped my arms around her waist and nodded, "Yes way."

"Wait, is that why you're so down? Did she decline?" She drew back a bit, still holding onto me and looked me in the eye, pouting sympathetically.

"No, that's not it. She in fact said yes." I beamed and smiled shyly.

Riley raised an eyebrow, "Well, then what is it? What is there to be worried and angry about?" She released me from her hold and took a step back, putting some space between our bodies again.

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. I wasn't sure if I should tell Riley what all happened. It's not that I don't trust her; it's more that I don't want her to start questioning things that even I don't have an answer to. So instead I told her a less detailed version. "We decided to meet up before school yesterday morning but she never showed up. She won't text me back or pick up her phone. And she still isn't at school today."

"I see. So you're worried since you don't know why and you're angry since she stood you up." She looked at me in question, wondering if she's correct.

"Yeah. Something like that."

Riley nodded and staying silent for a few minutes. When she looked back at me, she shrugged. "You know what, I'm sure that Brittany has a very good reason why she isn't at school and all. And she'll be here tomorrow but in the meantime we should get you a distraction." She smiled cheery and I groaned inwardly, so much for getting some advice.

"Urgh, I'm not in the mood for drinks, Ry." I seriously did not want to get drunk. What if Brittany decides to call and I'm too drunk to even pick up my phone. Not a good idea.

"I have something way better." She pushed me into my car and skipped over to the passenger side, giving me directions towards 'my distraction'.

/

"Seriously, Ry?" I punched Riley's shoulder and got a death glare in return. Unaffected by the glare I continued, "You bring me here to watch you interact with your girlfriend? I'm not in the mood to witness you being all lovey-dovey with your girlfriend while my-" Shaking my head I corrected myself. "While Brittany is no where to be found."

Riley rolled her eyes towards the ceiling and wrapped an arm around her girlfriend's waist. "We're here to watch the game, C."

"Oh." I nodded as I took in our surroundings. "Right. So who's playing?"

"Seriously, San?" Riley mocked my words, rolling her eyes again before turning towards her girlfriend and nodding her off. Once she was out of side, Riley turned back towards me and scoffed. "Could you at least be a bit more enthusiastic?"

"Sorry. I didn't-"

She cut me off and slung her arm around my shoulder, "It's fine. Let's just go inside, all right? They'll start in a minute."

I nodded and followed Riley inside. Taking a seat on the bleachers, we talked about school, practice and other things until the game finally started. I laughed each time Riley would cheer loudly and her girlfriend would send her an embarrassing smile. It was hilarious to watch and made me wonder if Brittany would do the same for me. A pang of sadness shot through my body causing my shoulders to slump and Riley to look at me questionably. I waved her off with a forced smile and continued watching the game. The sets took forever to finish, both teams were really good and held long rally's going. I was really impressed and soon found myself cheering along with Riley.

During break, I turned to Riley and smiled, "They're actually pretty good."

Riley beamed and nodded. "I know. They get scouts to look at them some time during the semester. It's possible one of them could go to the national team."

"That's amazing." To get into a national team, you'd have be the best of the best. It would be almost unbelievable if you get accepted in such a team. To play against different countries would be an amazing opportunity for any of us.

"It's the dream. At least, my dream."

I turned to Riley with a raised eyebrow and notice she was fidgeting in her seat. After a moment of silence, I nodded and patted her leg, "You should totally go for it, Ry."

Riley let out a sigh and dropped her gaze downwards. "I don't think I'm good enough, though. These girls all practice so much. We hardly do that." She mumbled the last sentence but I still managed to catch it.

"Nonsense, you're just as good as them." I couldn't believe that Riley was putting herself down so much. She's so much better than she gives herself credit for. I couldn't let her do that. "You know what, I'll train you. Every day after school, we'll train together and get you in shape. Trust me, in no time you'll be even better than these girls."

"Cap-"

Shaking my head I silence her with a smile, "We'll make your dream come true."

Riley stays silent for a moment but then smiles shyly and nods. "Thank you."

"Don't start thanking me yet. Do that once you're a famous volleyball star." I laughed and punched her lightly.

"Oh, I will." Chuckling we both went back to watching the game, cheering on the team of Riley's girlfriend.

_Brittany POV_

I kept my head down and my hands behind my back as I walked through the halls of the school. I quickened my pace when I heard students behind me whispering things to each other. I was scared and worried about how Santana would react to everything and really hoped that she wasn't all to mad at me. I had a good reason why I did what I did but I wasn't sure if she would understand. Sighing, I headed in the direction of Santana's locker, knowing she'd be there to grab her books for first period.

I stopped in my tracks when I noticed that Quinn was talking to Santana so I slowly made my way over towards them. Santana had her back towards me so she wouldn't be able to see me. I caught the last words of Quinn's question towards Santana. "-Riley talked to you yesterday?"

"Yeah, she even took me out to watch a game to 'distract' me." Santana responded while her head bopped up and down.

"Did it-" Quinn started asking but the moment she caught me standing behind them, words seemed to fail her and her mouth stayed agape.

Santana waved her hand in front of Quinn. "Quinn? Did it what?" When Quinn didn't reply, Santana turned to see what she was staring at so intensely. I could see different kind of emotion floating behind her eyes until it settles on a mix between confusion and relief. "Brittany."

I lowered my gaze towards the ground and scuffed my shoes against it. "Hi." I wasn't sure if she heard me since I didn't get any reply so I looked up and saw her staring back at me with a raised eyebrow. "Could we… uhm… talk for a moment? In private?"

I sighed in relief when I got a nod in return and I followed behind her when she started to walk outside towards the bleachers. We sat down out of the sight of anyone and I fidgeted, making sure to keep my arm and hand out of her view.

The silence seemed to irritate Santana since she suddenly spoke up in a harsh tone. "So, are you going to explain to me why you stood me up, where the hell you've been and why you never answered any of my texts or calls?"

I swallowed audibly and nodded. "I'm sorry. Will you let me explain without interrupting?" I knew she would interrupt me if I tell her what had happened.

Santana gave me an incredulous look but nodded, "Sure."

I took a deep breath and relayed everything that happened from the moment that I woke up on Monday morning up until right now.

_Flashback; Monday night_

_I had gone to sleep almost right after texting Santana with a nervous flutter in my stomach. I was finally going to tell her that I have a disorder. I was pretty terrified of what kind of reaction that I would get of her, and if she'd understand. What I hadn't counted on was the muffled yelling that came from downstairs early in the morning. Woken up from my slumber, I groan and roll over on stomach. My alarm that hadn't gone off yet and the dark starry sky indicated that my mom probably just had returned home from work. Which meant I still had a few hours to sleep before I had to wake up to meet with Santana. I had everything that I wanted to say to her printed in my mind. But no matter how well I knew each word, everything came down to how Santana will react to it. I truly hope that she wouldn't react like my dad did and say that I was just making things up._

_Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes to get a few more hours of well-needed sleep. I managed to fall asleep again somehow, but got brutally woken up a few minutes later when someone slammed a door shut downstairs, followed by more yelling. It was still muffled because of the walls but louder than before. These days, my parents had more and more fights. They mostly start because my mom came home late or my dad got to drunk to even step into the house and he'd just lie on our front porch. But sometimes it was because of me; because of my grades or that I didn't listen to my dad again. _

_Today it was about me again. I couldn't really hear what they were saying but when my name rang through the house, it was clear I had once again did something wrong. Rolling my eyes to the ceiling, I tried to block out the noises so I could fall asleep and deal with the rest in a few hours. I had a hard time trying to ignore everything around me and the more I laid awake in my bed, the more I became irritated by the noises. They just wouldn't stop. There were moments of silence where I let out a breath of relief but those didn't last long as my parents got right back at it a few minutes later. _

_I reached out for my earplugs and wished that they would help but as I got them in, it didn't do much. If not, it made it worse since now I was able to hear my own unsteady heartbeat. Frustration seeped into my veins as seconds went into minutes. I was starting to get really really angry. I couldn't take it anymore. They had to stop. _

_Pain seeped through my hand as I watched my knuckles collide with the hard surface. I winced and drew my hand back, holding it to my chest with my other hand. Did I just do that? It all happened so fast. I tried to close my hand into a fist but the searing pain that shot through my hand all the way up to my arm prevented me from closing it completely. Looking down at the angry red flesh, I noticed that one of my knuckles was less visible than the others. I wasn't sure what that meant, but it didn't look good. _

_End flashback_

As I place my hands in my lap, Santana's gaze gets drawn upon them and she gasps. "Oh god, Brittany." She reaches out towards my hand but stops midway, afraid to touch the cast. Unshed tears brim in her eyes as she worries over my hand.

"There is more." My shoulders slump at the memory of what happened afterwards.

Santana looked up at me and send me an apologetic look, "Sorry for interrupting. Please continue."

_Flashback_

_I flopped down on my back on my bed, holding my throbbing hand on my chest. I sighed and blinked away any tears that started to form. This was the first time I let my anger take control over my body and mind. I couldn't believe that I did that. It scared me a lot, like what if that wall was an actual person and I hit them? I could never live with myself if I ever did that. _

_Too lost in my mind, I didn't notice that Brent had knocked on my door and entered my bedroom. "Britt?" His voice startled me and I shot straight up, hissing when I clutched my shirt with my injured hand in the process. I pouted down at my hand and slumped my shoulders. "Oh B, what did you do?" I brought my eyes back to Brent and noticed that he was staring at my hand as well._

_I silently watched him sitting down next to me before I let out a quiet, "I lost it."_

"_Lost what, sweetie?" He asked gently while running a soothing hand through my hair and placing one of the softest kisses on my forehead._

"_Control." I sighed and could hear Brent's underlining question. "Of my mind. I couldn't stop it, everything just went black." A sob escaped my lips and a tear rolled down my cheek._

"_It's okay." Burying my head in the crook of his neck, he let my cry until my sobs subsided. He leaned back to be able to face me, brushing away my tear tracks and smiling softly. "Let's go find mom, okay?"_

_I nodded and sniffed, standing up with him to go downstairs. I noticed that the house was suddenly very silent, like the yelling before never happened. Silently following my brother down the stairs, I keep my hand close to my body so that I don't bump it against anything. We found mom sitting on the couch in the living room, her eyes closed, elbows on her knees and hands placed under her chin, holding her head up. _

"_Mom?" Brent called out gently, stepping into view. I followed with my head lowered and bottom lip sucked into my mouth. _

_My mom looked up in surprise. "Hey guys. I'm so sorry, did we wake you up?" _

"_It's fine. We uhm… kind of have a situation." _

"_What kind?" Mom looked from me to Brent, her eyebrow raised in confusion and curiosity. _

"_Britt." He turned around to face me, giving me a smile and a nod. I took a step forward but kept my gaze lowered to the ground. Letting out a shaky breath, I held out my injured hand towards my mom. _

_She gasped and whispered, "Oh baby." Which made my lip tremble. "What happened, tell me." _

_Before I could even bring out a word, my emotions got the best of me and I broke down again. I fell into my mom's arms and couldn't bring out any words anymore. I was so glad that Brent was there and that he explained everything to her in a short version, since I wouldn't be able to do it. _

"_What's going on here?" My dad asked when he walked out of the kitchen and saw us hugging in the middle of the living room. The frown that was plastered on his face morphed into one of recognition. "Oh, did she tell you one of her imaginative disorders again? You don't have a disorder, Brittany. You're just plain stupid." _

_My mom furrowed her eyebrows at him, "Did you just call your own daughter stupid?" She tightened her grip on my waist and pushed me slightly behind her._

"_What? Don't tell me you actually believe her made-up stories." My dad scoffed._

_Brent stepped in front of us and faced dad with his head held high, defending me the best he could. "They're not made-up. Everything she told you is true. You're just to ignorant to understand."_

"_What did you just call me?"_

_My dad stood right in front of Brent but he held his ground, "You heard me!"_

"_ENOUGH!" Mom pulled my brother back and glared at my dad. "I want you out of the house, now."__My dad crossed his arms and shook his head, laughing. "I said… LEAVE! I've had enough of your complaining and tearing down my daughter! I've been defending her against you for weeks now and I've had enough! Get out and don't you dare to comeback or I will call the police."_

_For a moment a glimpse of fear crossed behind his eyes but it went away as fast as it showed. Throwing up his hands, he turned around and grabbed his jacket and keys. "Whatever. I'm better off without you anyway." With that, he left the house and us._

_Mom breathed out in relief and returned her focus back on me, gently holding my arm. "Come on, baby. We need to get you to the hospital."_

_End flashback_

In the middle of my explanation, Santana had found the courage to gently grab my injured hand. She was so careful and delicate as not to hurt me any more, it felt nice that she cared so much. I had one last thing that I wanted to explain to her.

"The reason why I didn't call or replied any of your texts was because I had spend almost the entire Monday at the hospital or asleep. And I completely forgot to check it yesterday. I know that's not really an excuse but I hope you can forgive me." I nibbled on my bottom lip and looked hopeful at her through my eyelashes.

"Seriously, I already forgave you the moment you walked up to me earlier." Santana giggled and gently brushed her fingertips over the cast. "What happened with your dad?"

I shook my head and shrugged, "Mom and Dad never got married so mom just packed all his stuff and left everything on the porch. It was all gone this morning so I guess my dad took everything with him. But I have no idea where he is now." And I didn't really want to know where he was.

Santana nodded and gave me a sad smile. I wasn't sure if it was because of my dad or everything else that happened. Before I could ask her, the sound of the bell ringing, indicated that the next class would start in a few minutes. I stood up and reached my good hand out which Santana accepted immediately. With a smile and a laugh, I pulled her up and with me towards our class.

_Santana POV_

I was completely lost in my thoughts, progressing everything that Brittany told me earlier. When she walked up towards me this morning, I wasn't sure how to feel about her being back. I was happy but at the same time frustrated that she had ignored me for the past two days. Everything made sense after she told her story, though.

Too deep in my mind, I didn't notice that Brittany's shoulders slumped when she rummaged through her bag. It was only when the teacher walked in and told everyone to be quiet that I refocused on the current moment again. Looking at my side, I saw Brittany pouting. I furrowed my eyebrows and was about to ask her what was wrong when the teacher told everyone to open their books as he started the class.

In the middle of the lesson, I slumped down in my chair bored out of my mind. The teacher had put on an historical movie but as I looked around the class, no one was watching it. They were asleep, talking or scribbling nonsense in their books. Out of everyone, the only person paying actual attention towards the movie was Rachel who was furiously writing everything down that happened on screen. Shaking my head, I looked to my side and watched Brittany struggling to hold her pen in her casted hand. I smiled bright and watched on in adoration.

Brittany seemed to sense that I was watching her and she turned to face me, pouting her lips and with a slight look of devastation in her eyes. I smiled and leaned closer to whisper in her ear. "Maybe you should try to write with your left hand."

When I leaned back, I could see the gears in her mind turning at full speed. She nodded her head slowly and a smile morphed on her face. "That's a great idea. Then we'll be the same." She chuckled and blushed slightly.

"Well then you better practice." Nodding again, she grabbed the pen in her left hand and tried to position it in the right way so she could start writing. Her tongue poked through her lips in concentration as she slowly wrote the letters that she wanted to write. I laughed quietly when she shook her head and lined through what she wrote to start over again at another spot on the paper.

The smile I got when she finished made butterflies erupt in my stomach, flying all over the place. "What do you think? Did I pass?" She handed me the paper and pointed to the right text that she wrote.

"Let's see how you did." I gave her a smile and looked over the words. They were a little bit off but still curly like Brittany always writes. The words 'you're so beautiful when you smile.' made my heart stop and my cheeks to flush a bright red.

Brittany leaned in closer and the warm air of her breath in my neck sends shivers down my spine. "And?"

I gulped and tried to form some words to reply with but all I could do was open and close my mouth. I probably looked like a fish right now. "Uh…"

"Did I just rendered the great Santana 'Captain' Lopez speechless?" Brittany giggled and I didn't thought it would be possible but I blushed even more, steering my glance away from her piercing ocean blue eyes.

I mumbled out a, "No." But didn't have anything else to add to that.

When I looked back up at Brittany, she was smiling fondly at me and I couldn't help but smile back at her. "I was telling the truth, though. You're beautiful when you smile that big smile where your cheeks bunch up and your dimples show. It's the cutest thing ever."

Smiling bashfully, I wonder from where she suddenly got all this confidence. Brittany used to be shy but right now she's turning me into the shy one. I had to do something before she turned me into a complete mushy mess. "Same goes for you, though. Your smile just lights up the whole room. It's impossible to not smile when you're smiling."

Now it was her turn to blush as she replied with a grateful, "Thank you."

The lights off the classroom, which got turned back on, pulled us out of our happy bubble and back to the teacher. Everyone groaned when he told us to write down a summary of what we had seen in the movie. Rolling my eyes, I quickly wrote down the title of the movie so that I could watch it at home.

Tonight was going to be one boring movie night. I wondered if maybe I could ask Brittany if she wanted to watch it together. That way we could be bored together but still have each other's company.

That would make my night slightly better. Or you know, a lot.

/

Several minutes into the last class of today, I heard Brittany mutter something underneath her breath. Thinking that she was just talking to herself about the exercises we needed to make, I went back to work. When I noticed her fidgeting in her seat and mumbling again, I started to get worried. Was it happening again? And what was it exactly? Earlier it completely slipped my mind to ask her to finally tell me what she had but now I couldn't just ignore it anymore; I had to know what was wrong.

Listening in closely, I tried to catch whatever it was that Brittany was saying. I frowned when I heard her whisper an 'Shut up.' and 'Stop.' What was going on inside her head? I looked around the class but there was no one making that much noise or being annoying to be told to shut up.

Brittany's eyes were moving from one student to another so fast it would make anyone dizzy. She send glare after glare to anyone who sat close next to us. If glares could kill, everyone would be dead by now.

I reached out and gently, as not to startle her, placed my hand on her arm. Successfully drawing the attention towards me, I gave her a soft but worried smile. "Are you okay?"

With a ragged breath, Brittany shook her head and closed her eyes tightly. I couldn't bear watching her struggling once again and quickly grabbed her hand. "Open your eyes, Britt. Look at me." I squeezed her hand gently and she opened her eyes, when hers met mine, she visibly relaxed. "Tell me what's wrong. What can I do?"

She took a shaky breath and grinned her teeth, "They need to shut up. Just stop." The hand that I was holding started to shake in anger.

"Okay, alright. Calm down." I tried to dissipate her anger but it seemed that it was already too late. Thinking quickly, I wondered what I could do before she would break the knuckles on her other hand as well. I rose up from my chair, pulling her up with me and faced the teacher who was looking at us in confusion. "Can I take Brittany to the infirmary? She isn't feeling so well." I explained but didn't wait for his reply as we stepped out of the class without further notice. Pulling Brittany along behind me, we made it to the infirmary. After a quick talk with the nurse, Brittany was now sitting on the infirmary bed in a closed off room. I ran a hand through my hair and spoke softly, "Is this better?" She nodded and I sighed in relief, glad that this at least made her feel a bit better. I still wanted to know what was going on, though. I cared too much about her to see her struggling so much without knowledge of what to do. So I gently approached her and sunk down on my knees in front of her, placing my hands on her knees. "Please tell me. What's going on with you?"

Brittany sucked in a deep breath and fiddled with the cast on her hand. "I don't…"

"Please, Brittany. Why did everyone need to shut up? With what did they needed to stop?" I cupped her chin and ran my thumb softly over her cheek. "You can tell me. I want to help, Britt. In any way possible."

There was a long silence and even though I was dying to know her answer, I wasn't going to force her into replying quickly. If she still didn't wanted to share it with me now then I would be devastated but I'd back off and let her tell me on her own record.

Brittany's soft voice made me look at her in expectation. "I have..."

* * *

**A/N: Dundunduhhhh... Didn't expect that?**

**So I said that I was excited about this chapter, right? Guess what! I'm even more excited about the next one! :D**

**'Till next time!**

**R&R**


	8. Chapter 8 Explanation

**A/N: Sorry for any leftover mistakes! Hope you enjoy the fic.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any songs in this fanfic.**

**Big thanks to my beta: Evoli321**

* * *

_Brittany POV_

Sighing, I rubbed my temples. I hadn't thought that things would turn out like this. The last 3 days had been… unexplainable. It all came down to me breaking a few knuckles, my mom and brother standing up for me against my dad and him finally being out of the picture.

But most important to me was Santana's reaction. I didn't want her to think that I was crazy. Because of my dad, I knew what it felt like to be treated like I was stupid, like I made everything up in my mind. And I didn't want her to think of me like that. Somehow it was weird that I cared more about what she thought than what my dad has been thinking for the last 8 years.

It was hard to keep it a secret, to keep it all bottled up inside, because I was scared that nobody would understand and they would judge me if they knew.

I guess I was wrong.

_Flashback; earlier_

_Santana cupped my chin and ran her thumb softly over my cheek. "You can tell me. I want to help, Britt. In any way possible."_

_I was freaking out on the inside. Every 'what if'-question swarmed around in my head, it almost drove me crazy. I wasn't prepared to lose Santana yet but I couldn't keep this a secret any longer.__Not telling her was killing me. But not knowing how she was going to react was killing me even more. In the end I decided to just go for it. _

_With eyes closed tightly, my whisper filled the previous silent room, "I have misophonia."_

"_What-" Santana tried to ask but I held up my hand and went to explain it, even though, she didn't really ask for it._

"_It's a disorder or rather, a __physiological abnormality, in my brain that's being triggered by sounds."_

"_I understand-" I shook my head and sighed deeply, effectively stopping Santana mid-sentence._

"_You don't understand. You can't understand. Please let me finish." She looked at me with concerned eyes but I needed her to let me explain it without being interrupted. Once she gave me a nod, I continued._

"_It's not something that I can control. It's hard to just sit somewhere, trying to read in silence but all you can focus on are the clicking of pens, the soft whispers of people trying to be quiet, the repetitive tapping of someone typing on a keyboard, the person next to you unwrapping and chewing a piece of gum, even the cute little girl that's sitting across from you who lets out little puffs of breaths drives you up against the wall." I'm getting more worked up with every word I let out. "Just imagine someone running his or her nails down a chalkboard. That's how every soft, hardly audible, repetitive, common little noise sounds to me." I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself down a little so I'm able to continue. "I try to brush it off or chew in sync with others just so my own chewing noises drown out theirs. It distracts me, makes my chest tighten and heart pound. Most of the times I find myself clenching my fists and glaring at the person making the sound. But it enrages me up until the point where I'll be shouting for everyone to "shut up" or to "stop it". If I don't say anything, the rage just keeps building." I lowered my head and stared at the duvet that lay on the bed. _

"_I've been diagnosed with a lot of __different things: phobic disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar, manic, anxiety disorders. One doctor even said I had a bad headache." I shook my head and let out a breathy laugh. "Everyone understands a headache. Nobody understands what I have. _

_I'm not trying to get attention and it's not something someone can "just get over it"." I wish. "I wish that I could just get over it. But there is no escape from it, no cure." I looked back up at Santana and saw that she had tears in her eyes, threatening to fall on her tanned cheeks. _

"_It's not my fault, I didn't ask for this and I'm not making it up. I'm just trying to build my life around it." _

_The heavy words hung in the air until Santana's soft, raspy voice spoke up. "I didn't know. I'm so sorry, Britt. I can only imagine what is it like." _

_I nodded and looked to the side, letting out a deep breath. "So you believe me?"_

"_Of course I do. What happened earlier and your hand are enough proof. And even if there weren't any proof, I'd still believe you." _

_I brought my gaze back to hers and smiled in appreciation. Now I knew I had made the right decision to tell her. "Thank you."_

_Santana smiled and nodded, before furrowing her eyebrows and looking at me in wonder. "Have you always had it?"_

_I shook my head. "No, it began when I was around 8 years old, it's getting worse and worse over time." I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I didn't wanted to get worked up again but my body betrayed me as the tears in my eyes were threatening to fall. _

"_Hey…" Santana noticed my inner turmoil and ran her thumbs over my cheeks, changing the subject to something else, "I was actually wondering if you'd like to watch that history movie we need to make a summary off with me? At my place?"_

"_Really?" Santana nodded with a big smile, which made me smile too. Nodding my head rapidly, I replied, "I'd love to."_

_End flashback_

"What are you thinking about?" Santana scooted closer and leaned against my side. We were sitting on her bed, ready to face the most boring history movie ever made.

I leaned back against her and let out a breath, "How wonderful you are." I couldn't help but smile as her shoulders shook and laughter filled her bedroom. It was truly the best sound in the world.

"I didn't do much, though."

I lowered my head so it was lying on her shoulder and snuggled close. "That's the whole point. I was so scared that you'd hate me but you took it all so well."

"First off, I could never hate you. And second, I'd be crazy to just ignore how much you've been struggling. I want to help, Britt. In any way possible." She leaned her head on mine and grabbed my hand gently, lacing our fingers together.

I smiled and nodded. "I'm glad that I told you." I wasn't sure how anyone would be able to help but knowing that she was there for me, helped a lot.

"Me too."

When I looked up at her, I could see the questions that lingered behind her eyes. "You can ask, you know."

"What do you mean?" She stared down at me with furrowed eyebrows, confused as to what I was talking about.

"I can see that you're dying to ask something. So go ahead, fire away." As soon as the words had left my mouth, Santana's question rolled of her tongue.

"How did your family react when you told them?" Santana slaps her hand over her mouth and mumbles an apology for blurting the question out.

Laughing, I patted her leg softly to let her know it was okay. "Well, you already know that my dad thinks I'm just making everything up. No matter how many times my brother and I tried to reason with him, he just doesn't listen."

She ran her thumb over my hand in a soothing manner, causing a warm feeling to spread through my body. "What about your mom? Why did you only tell her now?"

"My mom is hardly home, she's a security guard and works most of the nightshifts. Whenever she's home I'm still snoring in my bed." I chuckled and Santana laughed softly at my words. "Which means we never had much time to have a long heart to heart conversation so I didn't tell her."

"And your brother?"

I thought back to how and when I told my brother. "He was actually the first one I told. He had this girlfriend a while back and as much as I liked them together, I hated it as well."

Santana scrunched her nose and peered down at me, meeting my gaze. "What do you mean?"

_A few years earlier; _

"_Seriously, you're mad because I went upstairs so you and your girlfriend could have some sort of privacy?" As soon as Brent's newest girlfriend had left the house, he came storming in my room, yelling about how disrespectful I had been. _

_I didn't mind the girl; she was sweet, nice and seemed to really like my brother. Couldn't wish for anything better for him. It was true that I had left the moment that she had entered the room but I didn't mean anything bad with it. I had a good reason not to stay with them. _

_Brent stared at me like I had just said the most ridiculous sentence in the world. "No, you left cause you don't like my girlfriend."_

"_That's not true, I don't hate her." I raised my voice a little; I needed him to know that I didn't hate her. That that was not the reason that I left. _

_He looked at me incredulously and raised an eyebrow. "Then what's your problem?"_

"_You won't understand." Sucking my lower lip in my mouth, my shoulders dropped and I scuffed my foot over my bedroom floor. _

"_What is there to understand? Please explain it to me."_

"_There is something wrong with me, okay? I couldn't stay in the same room as you both since I get irritated by the sound of you two whispering at each other. I didn't want to get angry for something that I can't really explain so I left." I breathed out a shaky breath and wiped away a lone tear that had rolled down my cheek. _

"_I left because I have this… thing and even the most silent sound kills me. I love you bro and I like your girlfriend, she's nice and I can see that she makes you happy. I didn't want to ruin everything for you by being the bitchiest sister who tells her brother's girlfriend to shut up. I'm sorry okay. I can't help it." Shaking, I lowered my head and waited for him to tell me that I was just making stuff up. _

"_Britt. Why- I didn't-" Brent seemed lost for words as he opened and closed his mouth a few times. "Why did you never tell me?"_

_End flashback _

I smiled softly at Santana, watching her listen so intensely, not wanting to miss a single word that came out of my mouth. "He later found out that what I have is called misophonia and that it's a rare disorder, which only a few people have. I'm one of those unlucky people." I let out a breathy laugh and shook my head. "Brent always has been cautious around me and stood up against my dad whenever he could. He's the best."

_Santana POV_

It was pretty late when we were finally finished with the movie, as well as coming up and writing the summary. The sun had already set a while ago, and even though it wasn't all that dark outside, I rather didn't want Brittany to go home alone at this hour. Shut up, I care about her, okay?

Brittany had packed her papers in her bag and was about to slip into the sweater she had thrown over my chair earlier. I watched her struggle with the sleeves and her cast until she got completely stuck, not able to move her limbs. I couldn't help but giggle as she let out an adorable, frustrated groan. "Saaaan! Help me!"

"Alright, alright!" stepping closer, I tried to figure out a way to get Brittany in her sweater. I patted her left arm and said, "Move this first… Okay now slip them in the sleeves." At last, I pulled at the hem and messy blonde hair appeared from underneath the sweater. "There we go." I laughed as she blew some strands of hair out of her face and couldn't help but stare at her pouting lips, licking mine unconsciously.

"Thanks." The puff of air that she let out with her words hit my wetted lips and sends a shiver down my spine. I managed to keep the whimper in that threatened to escape my lips and took a step backwards before I ended up crashing our lips together.

Clearing my throat, I averted my gaze and bit down on my bottom lip. It was too soon; we hadn't even had our date yet. Which reminds me that we still need to discuss when to have it.

First things first, though. I brought my gaze back towards Brittany who had been looking on with a confused expression. Smiling reassuringly, I reached out for her cast free hand and squeezed it gently. "It's pretty dark out, you can stay the night… if you want."

"Oh… I would really like that but I don't have my medication for my hand here so maybe another time?" Brittany cocked her head to the side and smiled.

"I'll keep you to that. But let me at least drive you home then."

She laughed at my persistence and shook her head. "Nah, I'll just take the bus. It's not that long."

"No way. I'm driving. End of discussion." I wasn't going to let her take the bus back; there were always creepy people on there.

Without waiting for a reply from Brittany, I grabbed my car keys and was already half way out my bedroom door when she replied, "Refusing is pointless, I guess."

I looked at her over my shoulder and grinned. "Yup."

The drive towards Brittany's home was spend in a comfortable silence, although sometimes Brittany would sing softly along with the radio that played in the background. I wanted to tell her that she could sing as loud as she wants but then maybe she'd stop singing completely and I didn't want that. So I let her sing softly and listened along quietly.

Once we arrived at her house, I reached out and gently grabbed her wrist, effectively stopping her from stepping out of the car. Brittany turned her head towards me and smiled brightly. Her smile was way too infectious so I couldn't help but smile back at her.

"Thanks for the ride, San." With confidence that I didn't know she possessed, she leaned in. My heart stopped the moment that her plump lips pressed against my overheated cheek, lingering for a few moments.

I opened my eyes, not remembering that I had closed them, and sat there with a goofy smile on my face. When Brittany collected her stuff and put her hand on the door handle, I remembered why I had stopped her before. "Wait!"

Brittany jumped in her seat at my voice and I mumbled a quick apology, blushing in embarrassment. I hadn't meant to shout. But I couldn't let her leave, yet.

Ducking my head slightly, I looked at her through my eyelashes and fiddled with her bracelet. Her fingertips found their way under my chin and she lifted it up, making our gazes connect. "What's wrong?"

"Will you… uhm-" I cursed myself mentally for turning all shy suddenly. "Go out with me on Friday? On a date." After I spilled out the questions, I closed my eyes tightly and waited for a reply. I know I technically had already asked her a few days ago so I shouldn't be nervous but maybe she had changed her mind in those few days. You could never know!

It took Brittany a little too long in my opinion, though. So I tilted my head to the side and opened one eye slightly, peeking through my eyelashes to see her reaction. She was sitting there with the brightest smile on her face, it even reached her eyes, making them glister and shine brightly. That was a good sign, right? Right?

Apparently it was since the next thing I know was that I was being hugged so tightly I could barely breathe. Brittany's yesses found their way towards my thudding ears and I sighed in relief, hugging her back just as tightly.

We're going on a date!

A date!

Shit! What am I going to wear?

/

I was slightly freaking out. It was already Thursday which meant that tomorrow was Friday; date night. I hadn't had anything to wear but worst off all, I had no idea where to take Brittany. It had to be some place romantic and a little more secluded so we could have some privacy. But at the same time there needed to be enough sounds so she wouldn't get irritated.

I saw Spencer walking passed my bedroom; she disappeared for a few seconds only to walk backwards into view again with a frown on her face. "What's wrong with you?" It was only then I realized that I had been pacing my bedroom floor furiously.

"Nothing. I'm fine." I waved her off and dropped down on my bed.

"Yeah, right, and I'm the pope." She scoffed, walking into my bedroom and sat down next to me, patting my leg. "Tell me. What has you so deep in thought?"

I went to lie down on my back and stared up at the ceiling, considering whether or not to tell her about the date. I could use some help, though. "I asked Brittany out on a date." I mumbled quietly but loud enough for Spencer to hear it.

"No way! My baby sister grew some lady balls and asked her girl out! I'm so proud of you." Spencer mocked and I pushed her shoulder, causing her to fall on her side with a laugh.

"Shut up!" Groaning, I slapped her shoulder several times as she wouldn't stop laughing.

With a huff I threw my arm over my eyes while a blush crept on my face. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry." She held up her hands and I dropped my arm from my face but refused to look anywhere else but the ceiling. "What is the problem then, though?"

Letting out another huff, I ran a hand through my hair and spoke softly, "I have nothing to wear, have no idea what to do or where to take her and on top of that, the date is already tomorrow evening so I have not much time to work some stuff out."

Spencer nodded and her face turned serious, something I don't often get to see. Most of the time she's joking around or embarrassing the crap out of me. "Okay, I can totally help you with choosing your outfit so don't worry about that. Where to take her, though, you'll have to find that on your own." I groaned again. "Just think about what she likes, where she likes to go to, what she likes to do. Then figure out what you want to do. Use your imagination a bit, San."

I thought for a few moments, letting Spencer's words wash over me and then nodded to myself. "I'll come up with something. Thanks for helping out, Spence."

"Anything for you, sis." She smiled warmly but then smirked. "As long as you tell me how it went. In detail!"

With another groan, I went to slap her again but she slipped off my bed and out of my room in a flash, laughing on the way out. Shaking my head, I flopped down again and thought about where we could go. Eventually I nodded to myself. I had figured it out.

_Brittany POV_

Friday came faster than I had imagined and I couldn't help but be nervous about tonight. I had never been on a date before and I certainly didn't wanted to mess it up by doing something stupid. I was worried about getting triggered as well; I knew Santana would keep in mind that any kind of sound could set me off. But it would be hard to find a nice place where there is enough noise but still quiet enough so we could talk without having to shout at each other.

I sighed, my disorder sure didn't made things any easier. Then I remembered the text Santana had sent me earlier, replying to my question what I should wear. She said to wear something warm and comfortable, no heels. It made me wonder what she has planned but at the same time it eased me a bit, knowing that she found the perfect place. At least, I thought she did.

Smiling, I stepped inside the choir room and sat down in the very back. Santana had told her that she'd meet me a little later since she had to talk to her coach about something. I didn't mind, as long as she didn't take too long. I wasn't completely comfortable being around the other glee kids without her in the seat next to mine. They were all nice but I often caught them giving me curious looks, like they were trying to found something out about me.

So when Rachel walked up towards me and started asking questions about my hand being in a cast, I couldn't help but tense up as suddenly everybody's gaze was on me. I gulped and looked around, wishing Santana was here.

As if I had summoned her, Santana suddenly sat down next to me and glared at Rachel, effectively scaring the girl. "Mind your own damn business, Berry."

"San, be nice." As much as I liked her standing up for me, Rachel hadn't really done anything wrong.

I raised an eyebrow as she pouted at me and she huffed when I didn't back down. "Sorry." She mumbled out so quietly it was practically inaudible but somehow everybody heard it.

Someone let out a hushed, _"_whipped_" _andI turned to glare at whoever said that but everyone pretended to be focused on something else. Once I refocused my attention to Santana she had turned slightly in her seat, facing away from me with her arms crossed over chest. A clear indicator that she also heard it and was pissed. I gulped and was about to apologize, although I wasn't sure if she was mad at me, but Mr. Schue marched into the room cheerful.

Pouting, I faced the front of the room and tried to pay attention to what he was saying. I couldn't help but glance towards my left once in a while, watching Santana sulking in her seat. I reached out and took her hand in mine gently but Santana was having none of it and retracted her hand out of mine. Hurt, I pulled my hand back and lowered my head, dropping my gaze to my lap.

The rest of glee club was spent in silence, both of us not having said another word to each other. Only the sound of the bell ringing brought me back out of my daze and when I looked to my left, Santana seemed to have just resurfaced, as well.

Biting down on my lip, I grabbed my bag and made my way over to the exit. The sound of footsteps indicating that Santana followed right behind me. I wasn't sure what to do now. Do I just go home? Is she still mad at me? Do I apologize? What about the date?

Sighing, I stopped in the middle of the parking lot, which caused Santana to bump into me. I turned around and before she could say anything I interrupted her, "We can cancel the date if you want."

"What? Why would we do that?" Santana looked up at me with furrowed brows, confusion evident in her eyes.

In turn I raised my eyebrow and replied, "Because you're mad at me."

Her eyes widened and mouth dropped open slightly. "Wh- No no no! I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at myself." She furiously shook her head and grabbed my hands, squeezing gently.

"Why?"

"Because I didn't let you tell whatever it was that you wanted to tell Rachel. I know that you're perfectly capable of taking care of yourself and that you didn't need me to save you or anything. But the way that you were looking at everyone in Glee made me think that-" I placed my finger on her lips and she quieted down, stopping her rambling. "I'm sorry." She whispered against my finger.

"I honestly did need you, I had no idea what I would tell Rachel and everyone staring at me with judgmental eyes kind of freaked me out so I was glad that you were there." Santana tilted her head to the side and slightly narrowed her eyes. "I thought you were mad because someone had whispered that you were whipped."

Santana's eyebrows shot up, "I'm not whipped!"

Holding up my hands, I took a step back. "I never said you were."

"I just didn't want you to get mad at me for being a bitch." She mumbled and averted her gaze.

Chuckling slightly, I stepped forward again and brought her gaze back to mine. "I wasn't mad and you're not a bitch. Just very protective."

Santana laughed and let out a lighthearted, "Whatever."

I punched her shoulder lightly and smiled brightly. "So… the date is still on?" Sucking my bottom lip in my mouth, I blushed slightly.

"Very much, yes. You better go get ready. I'll pick you up at 7, is that good?" Santana asked and slowly ran her hand over my jacket-covered arm, all the way down to my hand. She gave it a light squeeze and smiled up at me, looking through her eyelashes.

Gulping audibly, I nodded and let out a squeaky, "Perfect."

* * *

**A/N: There we goooo ! It's finally out in the open. **

**Yes, misophonia truly exists. It's not a very common disease but there are those who have it. Like my beta and me. Recently, I'm having a lot of trouble with it. (I also put my fist through a wall a while back. Seriously!) **

**Writing helps me somehow but I'm sure that there are others out there that are struggling with it as well. I just want to say that my inbox is always open.**

**PM me, message me on tumblr, .. if you have questions or whatever :D I'll be glad to answer them.**

**R&R**


	9. Chapter 9 Date Night

**A/N: Sorry for the wait and any leftover mistakes! Hope you enjoy the fic.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any songs in this fanfic.**

**Big thanks to my beta: Evoli321**

* * *

_Santana POV_

I arrived at Brittany's house earlier than planned. But as not to seem too eager and make a complete fool of myself, I decided to stay in the car for those last few minutes. I took that time to check my appearance in the rear mirror for the umpteenth time. I sighed in frustration since I didn't look any different from the last time that I looked but couldn't help feeling nervous. There was a possibility that Brittany didn't like the ideas that I had in mind for tonight. If things turned bad then I would have no idea what to do. So I wished upon my lucky stars that everything went smoothly. Running a hand through my styled hair, I looked in the mirror one last time before exiting the car and making my way over to the front door.

A few minutes and a quick pep talk later, I finally pressed down on the bell. I could hear it ringing through the house and waited patiently for anyone to open the door. I took one last glance at my outfit before I heard the door opening, revealing a smirking Brent. Blushing furiously, I straightened my back and cleared my throat. I wasn't sure if Brittany told him about our date night so I mumbled out a casual, "Is Brittany home?"

"Come on in, Santana." He stepped aside and allowed me to slip passed him. With a smile he gestured toward their living room and I followed him.

I let out a surprised gasp when I saw their mom sitting on one of the couches. Once she saw me, she smiled brightly and rose to her feet, stepping closer towards me. "We haven't been properly introduced yet, I'm Susan. Nice to meet you."

"Santana. Nice to meet you, too." I held out a hand, shaking slightly. What I didn't expect was for Susan to pull me closer by my hand and wrapping me up in a hug. I froze, my arms hanging limp by my side while Susan squeezed hers tighter around my slim waist. To say it was awkward would probably be an understatement.

"My apologies but I don't do handshakes." Susan laughed wholeheartedly and drew back, looking directly at me. "It's nice to finally meet a new friend of Brittany. It hasn't been since Ashley-"

Brent quickly interrupted before Susan could say anymore. "Mom. Not now." _Who was Ashley?_

"What?" Susan looked with furrowed brows at her son, confused as to why he didn't let her finish her sentence.

"Never mind." Brent smiled at me and gestured to the loveseat that I was standing next. "Take a seat, Santana. Brittany will be down soon." He said the last sentence a little louder so Brittany could hear him as well. I couldn't help but laugh lightly when I heard someone stumbling upstairs and the faint words 'I'm coming!'

We sat in comfortable silence for a moment, waiting patiently for Brittany, until Susan spoke up again, "So I hear from Britt that you'll be taking her out tonight. May I ask where you'll be going?"

I gulped, "It's actually uhm… kind of a surprise."

"Oh, I see." Susan nodded in understanding but the small smile that was plastered on her face suddenly grew. "Let me warn you, though. Brittany will do everything to get to know where you're taking her." She said through soft chuckles.

Smiling at the thought, I replied with confidence, "She won't be able to get it out of me."

Before any of us could say anything else, we could hear someone descending the stairs. Turning my head, I followed never-ending, jeans clad legs walking down the steps. Too busy staring at her legs I hadn't realized that Brittany was now standing at the bottom of the stairs. A subtle cough tore my gaze away and brought my attention upwards where I was met with the smirking face of Brittany. While I averted my gaze, a blush evident on my cheeks, I took the opportunity to take in the rest of Brittany's outfit. A simple shirt covered by a navy blue hooded jacket, black jeans and her blue and black supra sneakers I'd seen her wear before. Her hair was pulled back in a high ponytail except for two sections on either side of her face. She had opted to keep her make-up light, barely there but still visible.

"Hey San." Brittany's voice brought me back from my trance and I refocused on what was happening at the moment. "Ready to go?"

Nodding my head, I quickly stood up from my position on the loveseat. I walked up towards her and held out my hand, which she took without question. "Ready!"

As we were about to step towards the front door, Susan stopped us by standing right in front of us, preventing us from taking another step forward. "Mom?" Brittany who appeared to be as equally confused as me, questioned.

"I'm very sorry to be the bad person right now and spoiling the fun but Brittany I would like for you to be back before midnight. It might be a Friday night but I don't want either of you to be out and about until morning."

Brittany's grip on my hand tightened and she looked at her mom in confusion. "What? Mom, I've never had a curfew before. Why the sudden change?"

"Your father might not have cared so much as to when you came home but I do. And since he's not here anymore, we'll be going by my rules now. Is that understood?" Susan tilted her head to the side slightly and looked at us in question. I felt pretty uncomfortable to be witnessing Brittany and her mom having a stare off. Running my thumb over Brittany's hand softly, I tried to calm her down. Having a fight with her mom would definitely not help our case at the moment.

Brittany grew visibly more relaxed and replied with a polite. "Yes, mom."

"And if for some reason you can't be home on time, you let me now."

"I will, mom. Can we go now? If I have to be back on time then I would like to leave as soon as possible." Brittany took a step forward and pulled me along by the hand, once again trying to leave the house.

Susan nodded and stepped off to the side, out of our way. "Of course. Enjoy your evening, girls."

"Come on, San." Brittany made a beeline for the front door without another glance or goodbye to her mother, gently pulling me along with her.

I didn't wanted to end up in Susan's bad books, though. So I turned around slightly, without letting go of Brittany's hand and smiled politely at Susan. "Bye Mrs. Pierce, it was nice meeting you again." I wasn't sure whether or not I was still allowed to call her Susan, with all the commotion from just yet.

Susan smiled and nodded in my direction. "Bye Santana, it was nice meeting you too and please, call me Susan."

"Will do." Happy, I turned back around and followed Brittany out of the door and towards my car. I had to let go of her hand as soon as she stepped in the passenger seat, missing the contact immediately. So I rounded the car quickly, sliding in the drivers seat and reclaiming Brittany's hand in my own over the center console. Glad to feel the warmth of her hand in mine again.

I started the car and drove of towards the surprise location, humming along with the radio. When Brittany squeezed my hand gently, I took my eyes of the road and turned it towards her. Her sorrowful expression caused me to raise my eyebrows. "Sorry about earlier, San. I didn't know that my mom would suddenly change my curfew."

Smiling softly, I shook my head and squeezed her hand. "It's okay, Britt. There is still a lot of time for our date, no worries."

Brittany nodded and send a smile back, although the smile suddenly turned mischievous. "Soooooo, where are we going?"

I couldn't help but laugh. Susan had been right about Brittany trying to pry for any details about the surprise date.

/

"What's that?" Brittany pointed at the case laying the back of the trunk. Squinting her eyes slightly to take a better look, she let out a squeal once she noticed what it exactly was. "Is that a guitar case?" She turned her head and looked hopefully at me.

Biting down on my bottom lip, I nodded. "Yeah, I thought it would come in handy later."

When Brittany clapped enthusiastically in her hands, I let out a relieved breath that I didn't realize I had been holding. Some off the nerves, which had settled in my chest as soon as we had arrived at the location that I had chosen, slipped away making it easier to breathe again. Glad that everything was going good up until now, I smiled softly when the next words left Brittany's mouth. "Are you going to sing?"

I let out a giggle and blushed slightly, "I might."

"This is going to be the best date ever." Brittany hopped up and down, not able to contain her excitement.

I couldn't help but laugh, "I hope so. Are we ready?" I closed up my car and nodded over to the path that lay in front of us. "We'll have to walk a bit before we reach the spot."

"_The_ spot?"

"Yeah, it's- wait, you're trying to get me to tell you the surprise." I narrowed my eyes at Brittany but couldn't help but smile when she looked at me sheepishly. Shaking my head, I slung the guitar over my shoulder and took a hold of the basket that I had opted on bringing for the date. I started walking along the path but took a look over my shoulder when I noticed that Brittany wasn't following. "Are you coming or not?" Brittany was quick to run after me to catch up.

Brittany took in all the surroundings, her head shooting from left to right, eyes darting at everything around her, trying to figure out where we were and where we were heading. I tried my best to hold my laugh and continued walking straight ahead, up the hill.

After a few minutes of walking, I finally reached the spot and set everything down on the ground. Brittany had been trailing behind a bit, since she had stopped to run after a wild rabbit, whom had ran away from her as quickly as possible. "Saaaaan, did you see that? It just ran away, I hadn't even ta- holy crap!" Brittany gasped and stared ahead wide eyed.

"So, what do you think?"

"H-how… wow… this is amazing." She rubbed her eyes and shook her head as if what she was seeing was a dream. At some point it pretty much was. Smiling, I took her hand in mine gently and pulled her forward so that we were both standing on the edge.

We were standing on a hill, overlooking a lake and further away we could see the city. It was a breathtaking view, which was only going to be more breathtaking in a few hours when it was dark enough and the city lights lit up. Trees surrounded the lake but from our point of view, we were able to see the water glistering in the sunlight. Brittany hadn't said anything else for a while so I glanced at my side and saw she was staring open-mouthed at the view, taking in every single detail. I smiled and squeezed her hand to get her attention. Once she shook herself out of her daze and stared at me with a bright smile, I just had to smile back. "I have another surprise."

"There is more?" Brittany gasped and quickly looked around, trying to find out what else there could possibly be.

Biting down on my bottom lip, I nodded and let go of her hand to quickly retrieve something from the basket. Brittany looked incredulous at me when I returned by her side with a bag of bread. Without any explanation, I grabbed her hand and pulled her with me down the hill.

"Wait San, what about your guitar? We can't just leave it there for everyone to steal." Brittany started pulling me back up the hill to go fetch it but I shook my head.

"No worries, Britt. There is no one out here."

"You can't know that." She raised an eyebrow in my direction but once again followed behind me.

I giggled and reassured her that there was nothing to worry about. It was a pretty secluded area. Only those who really were looking for it would be able to find it. Other people would just follow the main path towards the lake or up the hill. "It's fine. Trust me."

_Brittany POV_

Sharing one last glance at the top of the hill, I shook my head and followed Santana. If she said it was safe then I couldn't do much else but believe her. If anything got stolen then I couldn't say I didn't warn her. Santana slowed her pace and I noticed we were now at the bottom of the hill, only a few feet away from the blue, glistering lake. What caught my attention more though were the little ducks swimming and waddling around by the lake. Squealing, I squeezed Santana's hand so tight I was about to break every bone. She gently pried my fingers of her hand with a wince and I let go with an apologetic look.

Santana waved it off and held the bag of bread out towards me, which I grabbed with glee. "Go ahead." She nodded at the ducks and I ran over to them before she could say anything else.

I scrunched down on my knees and tore off a little piece of bread, tossing it in front of me where a few ducks are gathered. More joined the little group and soon I was surrounded by a lot of ducks. I tried to feed all of them but in the end the pieces seemed to get eaten by those whom scared the others away to have everything for themselves. I couldn't contain my giggles, though. Feeding ducks always made me happy.

Santana's presence next to me caused me to look up at as she joined, feeding the ducks as well. I smiled softly at her and tore another piece of the bread, throwing it into the water. Not thinking about the damage that it was about to inflict. The droplets of water that hit me in the face and the ear deafening shriek that escaped Santana's throat made me realize what I had done. I turned my head to see how much damage had been made but the moment my gaze fell upon Santana's drenched form, I couldn't contain my laughter. The sight looked right out of one of those comic books stacked away under Brent's bed.

Santana pouted and slapped my arms. "It's not funny, Britt. Stop laughing."

"S-sorry, San." My laughter died down until only a few giggle were left. The moment I had thrown the bread into the water, several ducks had leaped up and dived right into the water to catch the pieces. Which of course caused water to splash in Santana's direction. "Here, take this." I slipped out of my jacket and handed it over to her, which she took gratefully. She tore of her drenched cardigan and slipped her arms in my jacket, zipping it close. It was a bit too big for her but when she buried her nose in the material, she looked absolutely adorable. Taking out one of my own hairclips, I leaned forward and brushed a few wet strands of hair out of her face, securing them on top of her head. Satisfied with my handy work, I nodded to myself and brought my gaze back down. Startled at how close our faces were, I took in a deep breath and flushed bright red. My eyes darted down to her lips causing me to unconsciously lick my own. If either of us would lean in just a tad further those full plump lips would be pressed against mine, stealing any leftover oxygen in my lungs.

"We should go back." I saw the words more than I heard them but nodded either way, standing up so I could clear my head. _Focus, Brittany._ This was only our first date and Santana had said before that she wanted to take things slow. Kissing her at the beginning of a first date would definitely not be considered slow, right? Groaning in frustration, I didn't notice that Santana had been watching my inter turmoil. So when she placed her hand on my shoulder and looked at me in concern, I gave her an assuring smile.

I had to avert the attention to something else so with a smirk I gently brushed her hand of my shoulder and ran back upwards the hill, shouting over my shoulder at a stunning Santana, "Last on top is the loser!"

"Wha- HEY! That's not fair!" Santana called from behind me but I could still hear her sprint after me, trying to catch up. "PIERCE!"

I kept on running, glad that I was able to direct the attention to something else. I yelped when Santana appeared next to me and started to run along side of me. I might have long legs and a good condition because of dancing but she had no trouble in keeping up with me.

In the end I still managed to be first on top with a heaving chest and ragged breath. "I win!" I exclaimed and smiled happily.

"You cheated." Santana deadpanned and I raised my eyebrow in her direction. "You didn't informed me on time."

The look Santana gave me could have easily killed a few puppies; I shook my head and opened my arms invitingly. "Hug?"

Santana didn't need to be asked twice and as quickly as she could, pressed herself flush against me, wrapping her arms around my slim waist. I smiled and wrapped my arms around her next, burying my nose in her hair. She smelled like peaches and it quickly became my new favorite smell. After standing there for a while, locked in each others embrace, I loosened my hold and mumbled a soft, "Shall we go sit down?"

She nodded and unwrapped herself from me, moving over to the basket she had bought with her. My previous worries of everything getting stolen were unnecessary since it was all still there. I looked on in curiosity and watched her pull out a few blankets out the basket, placing them on the ground. Next she grabbed her guitar out of its case and went to sit down on the blanket, mentioning for me to do the same.

"Are you going to sing for me now?" I gave Santana my best puppy dog eyes along with a pout, which I knew no one could resist.

She blushed and bit down on her bottom lip. "Well, I was thinking about just talking for a while but if you want to hear something now then I'll play something. It's your call."

I nodded and squirmed in my seat excitedly. "Yes, please."

"Anything for you, B." Placing her guitar in her lap, she scraped her throat and strummed the guitar strings for a moment. "Okay."

I brought my knees up towards my chest and placed my head on them when she started to play the first verse of the song. Then I was blown away by her voice, it was soft yet so powerful and raspy. _Beautiful_.

_When you try your best but you don't succeed  
When you get what you want but not what you need  
When you feel so tired but you can't sleep  
Stuck in reverse_

_And the tears come streaming down your face  
When you lose something you can't replace  
When you love someone but it goes to waste  
Could it be worse?_

_Lights will guide you home  
And ignite your bones  
And I will try to fix you_

Santana's eyes were closed as she focused on playing the guitar and singing the lines of each verse. I was totally in awe. Her voice along with the acoustic of the guitar was just so perfect, like it was made to sound like that.

_And high up above or down below  
When you're too in love to let it go  
But if you never try you'll never know  
Just what you're worth_

_Lights will guide you home  
And ignite your bones  
And I will try to fix you_

I couldn't help but wonder what she was singing about. I had never heard the song before so it must be something she wrote herself and yet somehow it sounded so familiar to my ears.

I moved along when she started playing an instrumental part, bobbing my head along with the music. Santana looked up and gave me a little smile before she sung the next verse.

_Tears stream down your face  
When you lose something you cannot replace  
Tears stream down your face  
And I_

_Tears stream down your face  
I promise you I will learn from my mistakes  
Tears stream down your face  
And I_

Drawing out the _I_'s at the end, letting her voice carry over the entire place as she got to the last lines. Her eyes closed again and she lowered her voice again to sing the last few lines, strumming only a few strings of her guitar.

_Lights will guide you home  
And ignite your bones  
And I will try to fix you_

Once her voice had died down, I leaped up and pulled her into a bone-crushing hug, squishing the guitar between us. As I pulled back, I smiled and let out a whisper, "That was so beautiful."

Santana smiled bashfully and blushed, "Thank you."

"Did you write that?" I just had to ask.

"Yeah, I did. I wrote it recently actually so I wasn't so sure if it would be any good." She bit down on her bottom lip again and looked uncertain.

"Good? That was awesome!"

Santana giggled and let a bright smile lit her face. "Thank you, Britt. I'm glad that you like it."

Nodding, I smiled softly. "What is it about exactly? It sounded so familiar."

"Oh." She averted her gaze and started plugging on the strings of the guitar, causing little sounds to emerge from it. "It's uh…"

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I'm just curious." I shrugged and went to sit back at my previous spot, in front of her.

Santana shook her head and licked her lips before speaking up again. "I first started writing it after I had been ignoring you for a while. Do you remember that?" I nodded; I did remember that. "That's when I wrote like a raw draft of it. Then after seeing you get triggered one time, I changed a few things here and there. And I finished it while you were in absent and in hospital."

"Oh wow." Suddenly I was at lost for words. I hadn't realized that the song was more or less about me but I definitely liked it.

"Is it okay?" Santana asked in a soft voice, almost a whisper.

"Yes. Yes, it is very much okay." I smiled and nodded enthusiastically while she let out a relieved sign and flopped down on her back, looking up at the sky.

"Britt look." She pointed up at something and I lied down on my back next to her, wondering what she was staring at. My breath got caught in my throat once I noticed all the bright stars twinkling high in the sky. Because there was no streetlight around here, the stars where much more visible than in the city itself. It was magnificent.

"Beautiful." I breathed out and let my eyes wander over the various stars above our heads.

"I know, right?" Santana replied. What I hadn't noticed was that she wasn't looking at the stars anymore but at me, staring adoringly at my profile.

When I turned my head to look at her, her warm plump lips pressed into mine, taking my bottom lip between her own. It was a short kiss but it still left me breathless. Taking a deep breath through my nose the moment she leant back. I reopened my eyes, not even realizing I had closed them before, and stared deeply in Santana's dark brown orbs.

"Holy-" I let out and Santana chuckled. "What was that for?"

"You looked so beautiful, I couldn't help myself." She shrugged and grinned slyly. "I can take it back if you don't want it."

I laughed but shook my head. "No way! I rather have another one." I added with a blush.

"You can have as many as you like." _  
_

* * *

**A/N: Took me a little longer again to write this chapter. My apologies to those who were waiting patiently.**

**Song used: **_Fix you_** by **_Coldplay_**(I listened to the acoustic version of **_Fix you_****** by **_Boyce Avenue_****** while writing the song.) **

**+ don't kill me for giving such kind of explanation for Santana singing that song. I'm not sure what the real story is behind the song, I just used my own imagination to make it fit in the story. **

**That's it for this chapter, on to the next. **

**R&R, please.**


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